tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23626703442472514702024-03-05T13:57:58.709-05:00Daniel WatersSome of My Best Friends Are DeadDaniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-26759157373531254982021-07-12T13:51:00.000-04:002021-07-12T13:51:53.643-04:00Viewpoint<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEucatuoRGTjs3h17wHLtiaDhTCZA_IehrUa84LNQnDyHzQjHW9cV8cmlnbcAyxpQ_kvRsCrDpAMGR4o4yS5qZbmZZsufKJkVVAgkyciKuWwVwkZLz9-UiFhgyiQxyCX1qY07KZEgWs1X/s1080/Surrealisme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEucatuoRGTjs3h17wHLtiaDhTCZA_IehrUa84LNQnDyHzQjHW9cV8cmlnbcAyxpQ_kvRsCrDpAMGR4o4yS5qZbmZZsufKJkVVAgkyciKuWwVwkZLz9-UiFhgyiQxyCX1qY07KZEgWs1X/s320/Surrealisme.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> This is one of my favorite photos that I've ever taken. I don't really know why it should have such an emotional impact on me but I feel if I stare at it long enough all will be revealed.<p></p><p>The photo was taken on my cell phone, and is uncropped, unedited, and unfiltered, right through my car windshield in the rain. I'd gone out to take some post-thunderstorm photos of an abandoned theater a couple miles from my house, hoping to get a neon electric sky behind the theater. Those photos came out okay, with some nice yellows, but not the vibrant purples and pinks I'd been hoping for like in this photo I took a few weeks ago in Savannah:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1N77hIwefVKjhalHzmJAi9dNrnusFfbQgXxL_yL6YLAk9-TKGYNSFe-XPjVIwA7m1HO7YJTGYDASI-JIG5WfhJIWX7bbE_ZGMilcBclLSNFFBDUHcEvbBZhkXoKZ6lQCC3XJdYXCqRH7/s1080/Savannahskies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1N77hIwefVKjhalHzmJAi9dNrnusFfbQgXxL_yL6YLAk9-TKGYNSFe-XPjVIwA7m1HO7YJTGYDASI-JIG5WfhJIWX7bbE_ZGMilcBclLSNFFBDUHcEvbBZhkXoKZ6lQCC3XJdYXCqRH7/s320/Savannahskies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Two people in my family are talented photographers, one active, the other let their talent fade, which might be one of the great (reversible?) tragedies of their life. I don't have their eye or skill but every so often I catch something that stirs my spirit.</p>Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-75599136337280640372020-05-31T15:00:00.000-04:002020-05-31T15:02:06.744-04:00A Brief Reflection On My Privilege<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I feel like the country I love is bleeding out. Words are
poor bandages, but still I am compelled to write and so I offer this brief
reflection on privilege in the hopes it may lead others to similarly reflect.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was stopped by the police—twice—on a walk from the strip
mall where I’d eaten lunch back to the hotel where I was staying for a business
trip. The stops occurred just a few weeks before Covid-19 shut down most of the
country, in a commercial sector filled with upscale strip malls, chain stores,
and mid-priced business class hotels like the one where I was staying. I was
wearing a gray hoodie, jeans, and gray sneakers. I was on the sidewalk; the
walk was maybe a block long, point-to-point. I was happy. I’d found a local
falafel place with comfortable seating so I was able to write a few pages while
enjoying my food, and when I left I popped my earbuds in and was listening to
music on an iPod as old as my children. I may have even been singing as I strolled down the sidewalk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then the first policeman stopped
me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He pulled his cruiser over to the shoulder of the road and
was smiling when he got out of the car. He was still smiling while he waited patiently
for me to take out my earbuds so I could hear him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you Joe?” he asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No,” I told him, supposing I did look a little suspicious
in my hoodie—the little yellow “Life is Good” logo over my heart would have
been hard to read from a distance. “I’m not Joe. I’m Dan Waters.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Okay,” he said, and then he got back in his cruiser. I
watched him drive away. I hadn’t felt afraid or even irritated. If anything, I
felt amused that saying “I’m not Joe” was enough to send him on his way. It was like I'd cast "Dispel Policemen" with that short incantation. I was singing again in moments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was approaching the stoplight at the intersection of the
hotel access road no more than a minute later when I spotted the second cruiser.
It was waiting on the other side of the red light and somehow looked expectant.
Even before the light turned green, and before the cruiser’s flashers came on,
I knew this other vehicle was also going to stop me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I proactively removed my
earbuds. Sure enough, lights still flashing, the cruiser rolled to an abrupt stop
on the shoulder in front of me. This time two policemen got out. One, the
driver, had his hand on the holster at his back hip.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I still was not afraid. Unnerved, maybe, but I really didn’t
think his gun was going to leave the holster.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hey there,” he said, smiling. I thought it was a “we gotcha”
kind of smile, smirky.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hi,” I replied. No fear. “I’m still not Joe. Your colleague
stopped me down the road just a moment ago.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He looked at his partner, eyes narrowing as he tried to get
that cop telepathy going.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Would it help if I gave you my drivers license?” I said, hoping
to cut through the confusion. The offer surprised him, just a little. “I’m staying at the Hampton down this
street.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It might,” he said, and his hand came off his hip and he
dropped the smirk, exchanging it for a pleasant smile.. “I’m really sorry for
the hassle.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No worries.” I replied, because truly, there weren’t any.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I gave him my license; he glanced at it and gave it back. He
apologized a second time and before driving away he turned to his partner and
said, “The guy we’re looking for looks exactly like him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought it was a funny thing to say, because the cop and I
looked similar. We were both white and bald; he was a few years younger than me
and a bit bigger—swole, my son might say--but it would be hard for a casual
witness to differentiate us in a line-up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I walked the short distance back to the hotel thinking
primarily about two questions, questions I’d be turning over in my head the
rest of the day and on into night as I waited for the sleep that so often
eludes me when I’m on the road for business. The questions still haunt me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How would I have felt in and after that situation if I
had been a person of color?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Would that situation had even gone the same way if I had
been a person of color?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite being confronted by the police twice in five
minutes, I did not have a single moment of doubt where I thought that maybe—just
maybe—things wouldn’t go my way. I was abundantly certain the confusion would
be cleared up with a few words and an ID card. I never thought the police would
find my earbuds, my hoodie, or my general demeanor disrespectful. I never
thought speaking to them before being asked a question would be a strike
against me, and I never once thought that the brief exchange around a mistaken
identity or false accusation would end with me in handcuffs or with a knee on
my neck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not everyone in our country has the freedom—the privilege—to
be that confident and fearless in interactions with the police.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Innocence is not enough, by the way. The fact that I wasn’t “Joe”
alone wasn’t enough to ensure I could speak freely and act under the assumption
there could be no possible negative repercussions for my actions. Even though I
apparently was a dead ringer for this miscreant “Joe”, in the first instance
all I had to do was boldly declare I was not Joe and the encounter was over. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does it work the same way for everyone?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is a simple
declaration of innocence, without any tangible proof, all that is needed to
peaceably end confrontations with the police?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not for everyone, it seems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over the next few hours as I replayed the event in my mind,
I realized that I’d stepped toward the second cruiser before the police had
fully exited their vehicle. Could that have been construed as a hostile
approach? Were my hands visible? Did my smile appear friendly, or insolent? Did
I reach for my back pocket—where I had my wallet, not a gun—too quickly? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It doesn't take a narrative genius to imagine several different outcomes for these two interactions. No creativity is required to paint a tragic ending when society has provided plenty of them in similar situations. Change mine and Joe's ethnicity and perhaps the story gets told in exactly the same manner--but probably not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it fair to say, that of the many benefits I enjoy as a
middle-aged white man, one of them is the benefit of doubt? I have fifty years
on the planet enjoying that benefit, that confidence, that lack of fear. My
childhood in the seventies, my adolescence and young adulthood in the eighties,
my life here in 2020—are likely to have been very, very different than another
person’s. Society and culture spent those decades teaching me not to be afraid;
society and culture taught many other people over the same time period that
they have every reason to be afraid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Privilege results in many things, but one of the most
prevalent—and most polarizing for people who don’t take the time to try to
understand it—is the ability to move and interact in society without fear. The
realization that many, many people we live, love, work, and interact with every
day do not enjoy that very basic freedom should be both sobering and <i>actually
terrifying</i> to all of us. The reality that the freedoms we consider to be
inalienable rights are routinely denied to people <i>simply because of who they
are</i> flies in the face of the things we think we believe in and stand for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Until we live in a world where people can live without that fear,
we live in a broken world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end, I was grateful I was stopped by twice by the
police that day. It led me to think deeply about a disease our society must
cure. It led me to have more empathy for those who don’t have the freedoms I
enjoy; empathy is a path to understanding and understanding is a path to
action.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then again, it is my privilege to be grateful. All I had
to do was say my name.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-48557988016060641492019-12-27T17:32:00.000-05:002019-12-27T17:32:10.192-05:00My Favorite Music of 2019<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQadARuEYamvk_8NcIV6gyIlqIbXtD_qB4KjE9oJLpU_aSkLkl7NRy63STflt3fBNanXuy8_kKpr0UXeF3-oZsP8WdPhlV8MVE5EhzYhDMXxGuo8yBkP_49Z-RS-5cHLMjoX6VXqnAjRm/s1600/stereoghosty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQadARuEYamvk_8NcIV6gyIlqIbXtD_qB4KjE9oJLpU_aSkLkl7NRy63STflt3fBNanXuy8_kKpr0UXeF3-oZsP8WdPhlV8MVE5EhzYhDMXxGuo8yBkP_49Z-RS-5cHLMjoX6VXqnAjRm/s400/stereoghosty.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Here’s my favorite new releases of 2019. If you are suitably intrigued by
any of my choices or the sounds they lead you to, do the world a favor and
purchase music and merch in a manner that would most benefit the artist.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Rosedales</b>—<i>Stereoghost </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Long-awaited new
release from one of the finest horrorpunk bands ever to record. Horrorpunk may
be a bit of a misnomer, though, as The Rosedales' unique blend of music includes
shades of rock, rockabilly, goth, metal, and doo wop for an utterly unique and
ofttimes haunting sound. If any of the tracks here excite you, buy their entire
output as they haven’t released a single disappointing track. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Sin Theta</b>—<i>Sin Theta</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Incredibly versatile debut
EP from a band with limitless potential; I wrote about them last year when I
included their demo—<i>one song—</i>on my best of list last year. One of the
only bands I can think of (Opeth being another) who is skilled enough to
super-charge your adrenaline or lull you into a state of harmonic relaxation,
sometimes within the same song. One of those rare bands where all of the
components excel both individually and collectively, a must-listen for those
with even a passing interest in metal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Kristeen Young</b>—<i>The SubSet</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Years ago I bought
her whole catalog after seeing her perform once, and I’ve bought every release
the day it came out since. This one may be her best, and it shows off both the
full dynamic range of her beautiful voice as well as the bottomless depth of
her lyrical ability. I’ve spun it a dozen times and still get chills with each
subsequent listen. “Everyday Subtraction” might be my favorite song in a year
that I found overflowing with great cuts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Ray Alder</b>—<i>What the Water Wants</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Debut solo
album from current Fates Warning vocalist; immensely affecting and powerful. As
Fates Warning, especially the Alder years, was the soundtrack of my college
years (sharp eyes can spot me and my voluminous, beautiful blond hair at the
front left of the stage <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RKmu6HsDwQ">HERE</a>)
, Ray’s voice affects me mentally and spiritually.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Arch/Matheos</b>—<i>Winter Ethereal</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was turned on to Fates Warning (thanks,
Dan) after John Arch had already left the band, but the first three albums he
recorded with them are among my favorites, not only in the Fates oeuvre but in
my entire collection. I love that he periodically rejoins forces with Fates’
mainman Jim Mattheos, and I love that <i>Winter Ethereal </i>is one of their
strongest collaborations yet. Great year for Fates fans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Specials</b>—<i>Encore </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Very strong album, as
socially revalent as any of their earlier material and just as groove-worthy.
Deluxe edition includes some fantastic live tracks of earlier material.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Ironbunny</b>—<i>Tettsui No Alternative </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently
there is a great deal going on currently on the heavy metal scene than
Babymetal, and I will be investigating that scene deeply in 2020. This was one
of the first bands I became interested in, featuring precise, riff-heavy
shredding provided by an armor clad “cyborg” and gorgeous harmony vocals from a
trio of young women. The EP also features a number of world-class guest
shredders <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Ride</b>—<i>This Is Not A Safe Place </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No one was
happier than I was when Ride reunited to produce </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2017’s <i>Weather Diaries</i>,
and I think <i>This is Not a Safe Place</i> is even better than that stellar
release.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>V/A</b>--<i>Ready or Not Soundtrack</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I saw more films
in the theater in 2019 than any year since the mid-nineties when I was an
assistant manager in a theater. The title cut alone makes this a worthy listen,
especially if you read or write horror stories.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Volbeat</b>-<i>Rewind, Replay, Rebound</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A very solid
and generous offering from one of my favorite metal bands, Volbeat once again
aren’t afraid to throw in some surprises, like the surf usic inflected “Sorry
Bag of Bones”, my favorite cut alongside “Leviathan”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Baroness</b>—<i>Gold and Gray </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Intricate and
accomplished new addition to the Baroness color palette.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Hawkwind</b>—<i>All Aboard the Skylark</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i></i>Somehow, I
have 46 Hawkwind albums in my iTunes, plus another six records I haven’t yet
converted to mp3, plus at least a couple dozen spin-off and Hawkwind related
solo projects (unless you count Motorhead as well, then the number is well over
a hundred). So obviously, I like Hawkwind. This is my favorite of theirs
released in this decade, the perfect vehicle when I need to escape to outer
space, as I so often do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Death Angel</b>—<i>Humanicide</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve always thought
“the big four of thrash” designation for Slayer, Anthrax, Metallica, and
Megadeth ought to be amended to “the big five” with Death Angel being the
fifth. I get it—they don’t sell as much—but the quality of their catalog
comes close to the best releases of the previous four and eclipses their worst
releases. <i>Humanicide </i>is one of their best releases, and managed to get
nominated for a Grammy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Cheap Trick</b>--<i>Are You Ready? Live 12/31/1979 </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My
love of Cheap Trick is well-documented and so I was thrilled to get this killer
live set, a November RSD release.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lana Del Rey</b>—<i>Norman F’ing Rockwell</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i></i>More songs
of Californian disaffection, Lana seems to get her own self-projected vibe even
more right on her newer release. Someday I hope to repeat my drive along the
PCH playing this at twilight to an off-brand hotel I have never been to and may
never leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Dickies—</b><i>I Dig Go-Go Girls/The Dreaded
Pigasaurus</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i></i>Blink-and-you-missed it (but available on iTunes) RSD single
release from O.G. California punks. <i>Pigasaurus </i>especially could be
dropped in as a bonus cut on <i>Dawn of the Dickies </i>and it would fit right
in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Magic Circle—</b><i>Departed Souls </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brand new old
school metal from a Boston based band; I just bought it this week but was
excited enough to buy their previous two albums. Riffy and deep, with songs that
are accessible enough to seem familiar but often branch out it unpredictable
but sonically pleasing ways. I bet they listened to Fates Warning growing up,
too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-49465262772687378582019-08-29T17:15:00.002-04:002019-08-29T17:21:41.504-04:00I Have Powers --King, Ellison, Fagen, and Voice of the Unknown<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">I’ve been listening to books on Audible lately. I
just finished listening to <i>How to Be Like Walt Disney</i>, which
focuses on all the good traits to follow (but omits less beneficial ones like
“smoke three packs of cigarettes a day”). Prior to that interesting and
occasionally inspiring book, it had been a succession of music biographies read
by the musician who wrote them: Kim’ Gordon’s <i>Girl in a Band, </i>Bob
Mould’s See<i> a Little Light</i>, Paul Stanley’s <i>Face the Music:
A Life Exposed.</i>. I’d forgotten to download next up in my queue, Donald
Fagen’s Eminent Hipsters, and had such a long ride ahead of me I did something
I’d never done before—pull up at a Dunkin Donuts for free Wi-Fi rather than a
coffee.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Twenty seconds
later, I had my book. I’d read a couple years ago and liked it enough that I
thought the experience of hearing Fagen read it might bring it alive in other
ways, and thus far my preconceived notion has proven true. The book mixes
memoir and insightful cultural commentary and achieves the affect of being at
once intensely personal and wide ranging. Unlike the bands the three artists
I’ve mentioned above spent much of their careers in (Sonic Youth, Husker Du,
and Kiss), of whom I’ve absorbed a great deal of information about and have
been listening to for over thirty years (and have the entire catalogs of), I
know next to nothing about Fagen or Steely Dan and have only been listening to
for about five years (and yet I still somehow have the entire catalog, band and
solo. Sigh). I’d heard some songs prior, of course—and hated them. Steely Dan
would be a mainstay of the AM radio my mother listened to in the car, and often
their hit songs would creep into the playlists of the Hartford and New
Haven-based rock stations I’d listen to in my formative years. “Reeling in the
Years” couldn’t hope to have the same visceral impact as “Something I Learned
Today” on the fifteen-year-old Reagan-era me. Somewhere in adulthood, though,
the sound, sensibility, and vibe of Steely Dan’s music “clicked” with me, as
did later-in-life enthusiasms like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and jazz. Steely
Dan’s records often hit the turntable in my house now, and two years ago I
bought Fagen’s <i>Cheap Xmas </i>career retrospective boxset, one of
my favorite things to listen to in a hotel room when I’m far from home.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Several of the
essays in <i>Eminent Hipsters </i>touch on radio personalities Fagen
listened to as a kid growing up in New Jersey; the title song of his first solo
album <i>The Nightfly </i>is a portrait of a late night DJ in that
mold, and Fagen—who I have since learned is reclusive and has suffered stage
fright!—appears on the cover as the titular character, one of the few times he
appears on any front-cover artwork.<i> </i>After listening to the first
half of the Audible, I go home and put <i>Cheap Xmas </i>on, and as
usual when absorbing the work of an artist I’m not familiar with, I seek a more
immersive experience through secondary sources. Google, in this case, and I’m
soon clicking through Wikipedia pages on him, his band, and his albums—my first
page is the one for <i>The Nightfly</i>. I went there first because I
wanted to know what the first track of the album, “I.G.Y.”, stood for—for
whatever reason, my mind plugged “I Get You” into the acronym for the first two
or three times I listened to it, so I’m pleasantly surprised to discover it
stands for “International Geophysical Year”, which Wikipedia later tells me is
the period between July 1957 to Christmas 1958, and was an international
scientific project in which <i>67 countries </i>participated in.
Despite being a student and aficionado, or so I thought, of fifties culture and
fifties astro-culture especially, I’m embarrassed to admit I’d never heard of
the IGY before—both <i>Sputnik 1 </i>and <i>Explorer 1</i> were
IGY projects. My appreciation of Fagen increased, my overall knowledge and
worldliness increased, and I was flush with the joys of new discovery. Reading
a little further on <i>The Nightfly</i>, I saw that the song “Green Flower
Street” is a nod to the jazz standard “On Green Dolphin Street”. I tripped on
that fact, slightly, if only because I didn’t recognize “On Green Dolphin
Street” as being a jazz standard. I figured I’d probably heard it at some
point, but the melody didn’t spring to mind.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Speaking of
mind-springs, here’s where I’m going to veer way off the narrative road I’ve
established and drop some thought you might find so off-putting that you avert
your eyes, close this blog, and never return. I wouldn’t blame you; I’d
probably feel the exact same way if a voice I’d hear previously as being
relatively sane suddenly flies off into crazyville and wants to take me with
it. But here goes!<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">I believe I
have psychic powers.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Specifically,
I believe I have not only a mild precognitive ability, but that I also can
subtly influence the outcome of the future events.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Still with me?
Here’s the problem—this ability—at least how I perceive it—isn’t something I
can turn on or off; it isn’t a “wild talent” like in a classic Stephen King
novel or comic book. I don’t think it had anything to do with the onset of
puberty, an excess of hormones, stress, or altered states of consciousness. It
isn't psychometry, but it isn't fully random either. It must be triggered. I
think I’ve identified the trigger, partially, at least. Basically, if I see or
hear a word or a phrase that was previously unknown to me in completely
different contexts twice within a span of a few days, I can anticipate a
“precognitive event” before long. It has to be the same word or phrase, and it
has to be in completely different contexts. So reading “I.G.Y.” and then “International
Geophysical Event” in the same essay would not trigger anything, nor would
reading “International Geophysical Event” three times in the same article.
There are probably some other stipulations about the context and the word or
phase itself that I haven't figured out; I don’t believe the first couple times
I heard a word like “chipotle” did anything for me.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Additionally, I'm not predicting major world events. I've yet to be able to steer people away from calamity; I'm not like Johnny Smith in <i>The Dead Zone </i>seeing apocalyptic scenarios caused by a future President (at least not with my psychic abilities). The future events I "see"--if that is what I'm doing--are only very personal glimpses into my own future. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Make sense?
No, I don’t think so either. And I've read those wonderful books on cognitive biases <i>You Are Not So Smart </i>and <i>You Are Now Less Dumb </i>by David McRaney, and what I'm describing exhibits several of the biases and fallacies he describes so beautifully. But... reality is just a construct anyway, man, and we all employ different architects. On the average, I have zero to
one of these events ("delusions", if it makes you feel better) a year—I have had maybe fifteen my whole life. On at least
three of those occasions, I believe my having seen the future event allowed me
to influence its outcome. </span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">So why mention
this now, when we were having such a nice conversation about Donald Fagen’s
work? I happened to be listening to <i>The Nightfly </i>through
headphones while reading the Wikipedia article, and when I was done I set my
tablet aside a picked up a book I had bought last month at NECon, <i>Stalking
the Nightmare </i>by Harlan Ellison. I was thrilled to discover that the
introduction was written by Stephen King; the book was published in 1982 (same
year as <i>The Nightfly</i> was released!!!), and while I love just
about all things King, I especially love his 80’s writing—that’s when he began
warping my mind in earnest—and so finding a fragment new to me was a thrilling
surprise.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">But then on
page nine I read this:<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Weirdness #1</span></i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><u2:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f" u1:preferrelative="t" u1:spt="75"><u2:stroke joinstyle="miter"><u2:formulas><u2:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"><u2:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"><u2:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"><u2:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"><u2:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"><u2:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"><u2:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"><u2:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"><u2:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"><u2:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"><u2:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"><u2:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:f></u2:formulas><u2:path gradientshapeok="t" u1:connecttype="rect" u1:extrusionok="f"><u1:lock aspectratio="t" u2:ext="edit"></u1:lock></u2:path></u2:stroke></u2:shapetype><u2:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" style="height: 351pt; visibility: visible; width: 468pt;" type="#_x0000_t75" u1:spid="_x0000_i1026"><u2:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/water/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.jpg" u1:title=""></u2:imagedata></u2:shape>So,
I figure after reading that I’m quite likely going to have a precognitive
event. And yes, all the while I’m thinking—maybe I’m just ignorant, and
everyone in my age bracket knows what the International Geophysical Year was,
or I’m a dullard who has been exposed to the concept dozens of times before but
never let it sink in through that thick skull to penetrate my brain-mud.
Whatever. I keep reading, because Ellison’s own forward is up next, and I enjoy
his biographical material as much if not more than his fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">And another
nine pages later I read this:<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Weirdness #2</span></i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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It is interesting, for the moment, just to imagine the probabilities and
synchronicities needing to happen to create these supposed conditions for
precognition. Skeptic at heart, and in my head, I consider the vast amounts of
culture I consume and how that influences the odds of me running into
previously unknown words or phrases on a regular basis. But when I add the
timeline elements into the mix in this specific incidence—what weird confluence
caused me to pick that particular book (and it was off the NECon 5 bucks a bag
table, which was like a rugby scrum with competitive consumers), but then even
weirder <i>to not read or even open it </i>until the very same day I
listen to <i>The Nightfly</i>, and then read those passages <i>within
moments of first discovering them on Wikipedia</i>? And by the way, <i>Stalking
the Nightmare </i>will be the 100<sup>th</sup> book I’ve read this
year (unless I finish listening to <i>Eminent Hipsters</i> first; I
count Audibles). I’m not positive, but I don’t think any of those ninety-nine
books prior mention the International Geophysical Event, nor do I think I’ve
heard it in any of the songs I’ve listened to or the movies or television I’ve
watched (although full disclosure—the Eric Dolphy recording of “On Green
Dolphin Street” exists in my music database after all, nestled among another
79, 751 tracks). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Maybe it isn’t
so strange after all; 1982 would have been the 25<sup>th</sup> anniversary
of the IGY; maybe there were celebrations, news magazine profiles, articles
galore, and maybe at 13 I was too ignorant to have noticed any of them. But
maybe that anniversary somehow inflamed and inspired both Fagen and King, or
both King and Ellison had heard the Fagen album, had discussed it even, and so
the ghost of influence was transferred to their individual work on <i>Stalking
the Nightmare.</i><o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Who knows?
And, more importantly, who other than me cares?<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">That’s it, end
of story. For today. I figure I’m moments away from launching into some
Nostradamus-level future-gazing. I’m feeling the urge to write up a few
quatrains, actually. If you see me post about fleeing the country, avoiding
certain brands of snack foods, or investing heavily in coastal real estate, you
might want to act accordingly.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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* * * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Postscript #1
Interesting that another essay in <i>Eminent Hipsters</i> contains
commentary on Philip K. Dick, L. Ron Hubbard, John W. Campbell, and A.E. Van
Vogt, writers who may have harbored para-psychological ideas at least as
crackpot as my own. They were all featured extensively in the seventh book I
read this year, <i>Astounding </i>by Alec Nevala-Lee, a history of
the Golden Age of science fiction. Once that synapse fired, I figured I might
have read about the International Geophysical Year within the pages of that
book—that crew was all writing then and certainly would have been interested. A
quick flip through the index yields International Astronomical Union, but no
IGY. Curiouser and curiouser.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">One of the characters in these books also claims to possess telepathetic powers. If my own story didn't scare you away--or even if it did--you might enjoy them. They can be found <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1567112323&sr=8-2">HERE</a></span></div>
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<br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-68417254172108306272019-07-23T11:35:00.000-04:002019-07-23T11:35:28.278-04:00QE Results for June: Backslidin'<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My best selfie ever? Snapped on accident after checking a weather app</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">In January I wrote a blog post entitled <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/queer-eye-my-daughter-and-i.html">Queer Eye, My Daughter, and I</a> where I related some of the experience and pleasure I had binge-watching the two season of the show with my daughter over the holiday break, and in doing so basically laid out a self-improvement (or self assessment, at least) plan for the year. The plan involves taking an honest inventory of where am in life with regards to five categories, as I see them, as exemplified by the men on the Netflix show Queer Eye. And so, an honest assessment on my performance for May in the five QE categories:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>KARAMO</b>: "Culture, Confidence, Put yourself out there". I'm knocking myself down a whole point to a 3.5 because I've detected a certain amount of fraudulence/self deception in my game plan. I'm not going to go into it in depth here, but suffice to say I'm working hard to make some changes here in July.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you, Columbia</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">I didn't crack the two hundred page count for the first time this year (although that is not why I'm shaving a point), finishing with 173.5 pages. Respectable. Not enough of it was fiction, though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>I Still See You, </i>the film based on my novel <i>Break My Heart 1,000 Times </i>that I never shut up about, is now available on Hulu and Amazon Prime. Watch it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">I had a business trip to Chicago and extended it so that Kim could join me to explore the city and attend a wedding. We went on a ghost tour which culminated in a trip to the Congress Hotel. Spooky.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Various ghosts and Slendermen visible in windows</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">In June I also began to fill my mostly neglected Twitter feed with articles on the for-profit concentration camps we are running in America. Articles like </span><a href="https://t.co/hy5p0sVjMa">This</a> and <a href="https://t.co/iButt8ZZCd">This</a> and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-unimaginable-reality-of-american-concentration-camps">This </a> and <a href="https://t.co/g1kNpjNZhG">This</a>. I realize the overall issue is a complex one, but one piece of it seems very simple to me: we are systemically abusing children, and we need to stop.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b><i></i>TAN</b>: "Make an effort with your personal appearance". I'll stay at a three. Kim has been helping and bought me some summer clothes that actually fit.</span><br />
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<b>BOBBY:</b> "Create and maintain a physical environment that promotes productivity, creativity and inner harmony". I'll stay at 3.5, as I kept busy doing yard work and wrestling with vast jungles of bittersweet the horrific week that Kim was away. The top photo is at the start of one such campaign.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>ANTONI:</b> "Make nutrition healthy and enjoyable, cook for others". A half point raise to a three. I made myself some great meals when Kim was away; I didn't really have the chance to cook for anyone else which is too bad because I was on my game. Maybe because the only person who could have died eating my cooking was me, so the pressure was off?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>JONATHAN:</b> "Take care of yourself physically" Staying at a 4. I ran 109 miles, making June my fifth consecutive +100 month. I'm about fifty miles away from my <i>yearly </i>Personal Best (or PB) of 800.8 miles, achieved the first year I started keeping statistics, way back in 2011. If you squint you can actually see some abdominal definition...50 likes/reposts/comments and I'll post a photo of my Herculean, hyper-jacked #DadBod (any other number, and I won't).</span></div>
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So June is my first month of the year where I'm downgrading my QE score.<br />
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Speaking of hyper-jacked, you can find<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> all of my thrilling novels <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Dead-Daniel-Waters-ebook/dp/B01G4UQ0Z8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Generation+dead&qid=1554305209&s=gateway&sr=8-1">HERE</a>, Check out the beautiful covers below.</span></div>
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Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-6370038926839792872019-06-26T20:22:00.001-04:002019-06-26T20:22:32.760-04:00What I Watched: May<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
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<i>I was reading The Avengers while you were still in cast-iron short pants, Mister</i></td></tr>
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1.<i> The Romanoffss, </i>Season<i> </i>1<i>,</i> Episodes 3-8</div>
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Kim and I watched the rest of Matthew Weiner's<i> The Romanoffs,</i> which we enjoyed very much despite my having spelled it incorrectly last month. Like any anthology series, casual views might find the episodes uneven--and they are lengthy, with most being "movie length", and the range of dramatic subject matter might leave viewers loving certain episodes and hating others. I've read some critical reviews of the series and many found fault with the pacing, but this was a common knock against <i>Mad Men</i>, the pacing of which, I thought, was one of the shows' chief appeals.</div>
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The show made me want to get into Weiner's creative headspace more deeply, and after listening to the 100th episode of Illeana Douglas's <i>I Blame Dennis Hopper </i>podcast with him I found a number of podcast seminars/interviews he gave during the various stages of <i>Mad Men</i>'s run--he's is a fascinating speaker on what moves and motivates him in his creations and I'd wished I'd been able to locate more. I did discover he'd written a novel, <i>Heather, the Totality</i>, and have added it to my tbr pile.</div>
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<i>Mad Men,</i> full disclosure, gets my vote for greatest television drama, all-time. I like<i> Breaking Bad</i>, but I don't think it is a close race at all.</div>
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2.<i> </i><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Avengers: Endgame</i></div>
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In early May, my father and I decided we would try and go to the movies together once a week, and we've kept to it except for a week I was away for business travel.<i> Endgame</i> was our inaugural adventure; we'd actually seen the previous Avengers movie together at the insistent and persistent urging of my son, an avowed Marvel Movie Universe scholar.</div>
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<i>Endgame</i> was the perfect launch point for weekly movie excursions for a number of reasons; in addition to having brought me to countless movies when I was a kid (1977-1982 being an especially halcyon time),my Dad was also the person who most fueled my desire to own and read every comic book ever published--he would often come home from a yard sale with boxes and boxes of comic books. One of my favorite title was<i> The Avengers</i>, and I managed to collect the entire first series except for #1 and #4.</div>
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My vast knowledge and lore of comic books of the 60's, 70's and 80's gets me in trouble sometimes with regards to the Marvel Movie Universe, as I can be hypercritical of things I feel are not within the spirit of the print MCU (an absurdity, I know), and there's all sorts of places where I could find fault with an<i> Endgame</i> story with Thanos--although I suppose it wouldn't be anywhere near as universally popular, I'd likely not be fully satisfied with anything less than a faithful adaptation of the original Jim Starlin material. </div>
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Fortunately, though, I was able to just shut up and watch, and of course<i> Endgame</i> is a fun, exciting movie. I only really, really hate one thing (I am an enemy of the "Iron Spider" suit; I think Spidey is a much more interesting and engaging character without it. Yeah, I know he needed to be able to survive in space, I still hate it). And my favorite part really annoys my son--I think Fat Thor was the best thing ever and would queue up tomorrow for a Fat Thor movie. I'm considering writing a lengthy essay on why I find Fat Thor so relatable but I don't want to annoy him further.</div>
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My father's comment after the show made me realize I'd be including a quote from him on every movie we watch together:</div>
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Dad on<i> Endgame</i>:<i> "I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I enjoyed it."</i></div>
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3.<i> Tolkien</i></div>
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This was the second film Dad and I saw together; I'm afraid I liked it much more than he did. There were flaws, and if you don't have patience for <i>Dead Poets Society </i>type material you would likely hate it, but being familiar with Tolkien's work but not his life I found it interesting and well done. The later WWI scenes I especially liked.</div>
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Dad on<i> Tolkien</i>:<i> "Next time we see an action movie."</i></div>
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4.<i> John Wick Chapter Three: Parabellum</i></div>
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Wanting to make good on Dad's request, there's fewer actiony action movies than this. Probably my fault for not having seen the first two, suffice to say Dad liked this one more than I did. It would be impossible not to.</div>
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That isn't to say he loved everything about it: Dad on<i> John Wick</i>: (during a scene toward the end where John and friend are knifing/shooting/killing an interminable squadron of assassins)<i> "Booorrrrr-ing!"</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Watched these with Kim. One scene in the first episode had me laughing so hard I had to pause the streaming service. The actor playing the boyfriend (Hugh Skinner) had a much different role in the last episode of<i> The Romanoffs</i> and it was both jarring and interesting to see him play such disparate roles back to back. . </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">My books can be found <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1">HERE</a> for pennies a page.</span></div>
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None of these is a television show. Yet.</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-75986181236975997462019-06-18T18:08:00.000-04:002019-06-18T18:08:08.804-04:00What I Heard: May 2019<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJpF5bdPnBW-OL8UpLXNdvaOGtbMSa4ApKuln9qlujAHIWizYVOnZuuCrFJPje-86nRkxU78ctt1pqrL6wTPAYfDrFPdiPK8IIK8aSpUneXdxPBKsz1V-S9f0Q2r90rHoTYdoLvpNdNdE/s1600/mixtape1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJpF5bdPnBW-OL8UpLXNdvaOGtbMSa4ApKuln9qlujAHIWizYVOnZuuCrFJPje-86nRkxU78ctt1pqrL6wTPAYfDrFPdiPK8IIK8aSpUneXdxPBKsz1V-S9f0Q2r90rHoTYdoLvpNdNdE/s320/mixtape1.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mixtape Masterpieces</i></td></tr>
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My first month in seven years without eMusic...seems weird. And now I hear the iTunes is shifting their platform, which always makes me more than a little nervous as I'm already using alternate universe technology. I have two iPods Classics, a full 120 with a large chunk of my Metal collection, and the beauty below, which is a customized gold "U2" edition Classic with a terabyte chip. Referred to in my household as "The Precious", it is rarely out of my sight and plays for several hours a day at a minimum. I was warned it would become unstable at a certain capacity, so I haven't put my entire digital collection on it but 57015 songs is a pretty good base. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Precious</i></td></tr>
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I've mentioned I've done my fair share of business travel over the years, and never without the Precious, one of my dearest companions. I believe the Precious listens to me as much as I listen to it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuaRbSqT0SCpSUNpknuEI8DQ1nh3yU_1RaCMwY6K_P2S1hfxo2VhgSBgIb5oq3PHKTRMYExQaQ1XGB4erWE-6vgYeOmgCCaeLR9TnzyypOoAcycUSJwXbUHooIOh8AitjcYgGN86JrbaI/s1600/mixtape3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuaRbSqT0SCpSUNpknuEI8DQ1nh3yU_1RaCMwY6K_P2S1hfxo2VhgSBgIb5oq3PHKTRMYExQaQ1XGB4erWE-6vgYeOmgCCaeLR9TnzyypOoAcycUSJwXbUHooIOh8AitjcYgGN86JrbaI/s320/mixtape3.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Such meticulous curation</i></td></tr>
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Yeah, that isn't at all weird, disturbing, or obsessive. But then again, neither is painstakingly converting all of one's vinyl (a whole wall of it) to mp3--and it seems like yesterday I'd converted all the vinyl to ATRAC so I could enjoy it all on long playing minidiscs! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaNxSzyBXWYSfu32HoFJtbiD5kCWR3hkSZDoa2-vqjj-9lleeS3D9FxmOLXBn3UMD6e1fYA4PaqiJYK0SRrH48BPfpUa0qOaUuacCieSWVeFwn-opajNbhqQhn0P4Nnj10YeJx9Uq44Tz/s1600/Minidiscs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaNxSzyBXWYSfu32HoFJtbiD5kCWR3hkSZDoa2-vqjj-9lleeS3D9FxmOLXBn3UMD6e1fYA4PaqiJYK0SRrH48BPfpUa0qOaUuacCieSWVeFwn-opajNbhqQhn0P4Nnj10YeJx9Uq44Tz/s320/Minidiscs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thousands of hours of music! (Thousands of hours of life wasted not pictured.)</i></td></tr>
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For years I could enjoy Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road" on Minidisc long before it was available digitally (it came back when the movie was rebooted)! Also Cheap Trick's "Up The Creek" (came out last year as part of Epic "rarities" compilation!</div>
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I still haven't seen Wall of Voodoo's "Exercise" on a legit digital release...</div>
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8-Tracks? I had a few. Cassettes? Never my favorite format, but I loved making mix tapes. I loved making collage art for the various tapes even more. I will always take physical formats over digital, and a digital file over streaming.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As convenient as they might be, I don't like streaming services for a number of reasons--control, gaps in content, signal, different mixes, advertising, possible glomming of preferences and metadata, etc. Quite possibly some if not all of those objections can be overcome but I don't care to try. Get off my lawn.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'd still take these over streaming</i></td></tr>
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CD</div>
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1. Arthemis,<i> Back From the Heat</i></div>
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My favorite Italian Metal band, and this an earlier album, acquired off eBay to complete the catalogue. If you want to have the greatest Metal cover of a pop song<i> ever</i>--yes, even better than Anthrax's cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time", then go to their website for the free download of their 6-song unfortunately named EP. You heard it here:<i> Arthemis's cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" is the greatest Metal cover of a pop song, ever. </i>Here, I'll make it easy for you: <a href="http://www.arthemisweb.com/downloads">ARTHEMIS</a> . Just listen to Fabio Dessi nail it! </div>
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Fabio isn't on<i> Back From the Heat,</i> but it is still a solid record</div>
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2. Sonic Youth,<i> Rather Ripped</i></div>
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3. Sonic Youth,<i> Murray Street</i></div>
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4. Sonic Youth,<i> A Thousand Leaves</i></div>
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5. Sonic Youth,<i> Sonic Youth Live</i></div>
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6. Sonic Youth,<i> Made in USA</i></div>
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I wrote about Sonic Youth a little in this month's "what I read" blog, and decided to fill the last remaining holes in the "official" catalogue. These are all great--and distinctively so. I'd forgotten about their movie soundtrack<i> Made in USA</i>, which I used to have on cassette before my cassette eating car stereo munched on it like twenty-five years ago. It appears to be OOP digitally (another great reason to trust only in the physical). Probably my third or fourth favorite of all SY-related discs.</div>
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<i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><br /></div>
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7. Pink Floyd,<i> The Endless River</i></div>
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8. David Gilmour,<i> Rattle That Lock</i></div>
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I was able to pick up the super-deluxe CD/DVD versions of both of these for a reasonable price. Haven't watched the DVD's yet but love both discs.<i> The Endless River</i> was my morning coffee choice two Sundays running.</div>
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9. Hawkwind,<i> Bring Me The Head of Yuri Gagarin</i></div>
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Live set "Classic" line-up, with Lemmy, Turner, Brock, Dik Mik, even Del Dettmar, but a very fuzzy recording and even the big songs lack the punch they have do on other live recordings from this era.</div>
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Digital</div>
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10. Megadeth,<i> Cryptic Writings</i></div>
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$5.99 on iTunes for the deluxe version; not my favorite Megadeth (this one isn't as thrashy as many) but still a very enjoyable record</div>
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11. Bill Callahan,<i> Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest</i></div>
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Half the album; as a promo they released a side at a time weekly for the digital release, so I didn't get the second half until June. I'll buy this on vinyl, but Callahan is one of several artists I don't want to wait to hear (or mind if I contribute extra profits by purchasing multiple formats). With my usual sense of good timing, I became completely enthralled with Callahan's<i> Apocalypse </i>and<i> Dream River</i> (not to mention<i> Have Fun With God</i>) just before he got married, had a kid, and took a five year hiatus from recording new songs. Luckily he's got an extensive back-catalogue to explore while I was waiting, and it was love at first listen for It was love at first listen for <i>Shepherd.</i> And what does that title mean, anyway? Is it a warning? Is he saying, "don't join my flock, because I will leave you shorn and skinless in the end"?</div>
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Kim tells me I've said this hundreds of times about hundreds of records, but I consider<i> Apocalypse</i> and<i> Dream River</i> life-changing albums for me. Fittingly, I bought them when I was on the road--the first cut on<i> Dream River</i>, "The Sing", is one of those strange cuts that is intensely personal and yet universal enough to make seem my biography, not Bill's--at a great little record store in Phoenix called <a href="http://www.stinkweeds.com/">Stinkweeds</a></div>
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No vinyl this week, but I appear to have infected my son with both the vinyl rockin' pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu, as he has been scouring the shops and flea markets for records and has come home with dozens of LP's in the past few weeks. Good stuff, too! We're listening to one of his Magic Sam acquisitions as I write this!</div>
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<i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><br /></div>
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I wrote a novel called <i>Aural History </i>about a musician who sees ghosts of other musicians. You can buy it <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FX4L1ZQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i7">HERE</a></div>
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<i>Cover Intentionally DIY</i></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-28049013403567632712019-06-09T08:43:00.001-04:002019-06-09T08:43:17.064-04:00What I Read: May 2019<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I like books about music</i></td></tr>
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A friend posted a recent photo of him attending a bookstore event where the guest was James Ellroy. I was a little jealous, as I've spent much of my reading time this year absorbing his collected works. Then again, Ellroy, by his own admission, hasn't been the nicest or most approachable guy in the world so I don't know if I'd just up at the chance to attend such an event--what the hell, I've already got three signed copies of his books!</div>
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Who am I kidding--of course I'd go. I'm a junkie for book events, and Ellroy has got some interesting things to say about writing. I don't always enjoy readings, but I'd love to hear him read from some of the later works I've just consumed</div>
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I read these in May:</div>
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1. <i>Hollywood Nocturnes</i><i><br /></i></div>
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2. <i>American Tabloid</i></div>
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3. <i>The Cold Six Thousand </i></div>
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4. <i>Crime Wave</i></div>
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5.<i> My Dark Places</i></div>
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<i><br /></i>Yes, I'm a little out of order. Why? I read some of these on business trips, and the trades paperbacks fit better (and weight less) in my carry-on bag. </div>
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I'll write about the fiction when I've finished all of it, but a few words on his harrowing memoir<i> My Dark Places</i>. Ellroy's mother was murdered when he was ten years old, and the case was never solved. Sometimes there isn't always a direct correlation between one's chosen themes, style, and genre and one's upbringing, but Ellroy's life in Los Angeles clearly informed every word. Sometimes directly--he writes about which of his books draw directly from life experience.</div>
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We don't always get this much biographical information regarding someone who writes the contemporary fiction we find entertaining, and as I moved on to the final volume in the U.S.A. Underworld Trilogy,<i> Blood's A Rover</i>, I was trying to determine how my newfound knowledge of Ellroy's life was altering my emotional and aesthetic reactions to his fiction. Ultimately, I believe I would recommend someone picking up Ellroy for the first time to start with<i> My Dark Places</i>. It is an unforgettable book, somehow managing to be both an indictment and an elegy for his parents (and for himself?) It is at times excoriating, painful, and shocking, especially in the pages where Ellroy mercilessly paints an ugly and unromantic self portrait of the person he was before he began writing seriously. </div>
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I'd recommend you start with<i> My Dark Places</i>, but I would also warn you--you might not want to read any of his fiction after finishing. And that would be a shame, because he's a singular artist who, in my opinion, has contributed to and expanded the boundaries of noir fiction.</div>
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Just two comic books this month:<i></i></div>
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6.<i> Tomb of Dracula, vol. 1</i> Gaah this series was so awesome, and the trade paperback edition I have really lets the art pop. My comic obsession started in the seventies, and I somehow missed most of this brilliant run the first time around. I only had so many quarters (these were all 20 cents originally!), and back then my first choices were always the team superhero books--<i>The Avengers, The Defenders, Fantastic Four, Justice League, Legion of Superheroes.</i> I'm kind of glad, though, because I appreciate these more today than I would have when I was a kid. Scary and beautiful.</div>
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<i></i>7.<i> Batman: Master Race</i> I love a great deal of Frank Miller's work, and have ever since rushing to the local pharmacy to buy the latest<i> Daredevil</i> off the white wire spinner rack (that's how we did it back in the days, kids. It was glorious). I still think<i> Ronin</i> is one of the greatest graphic novels of all-time, but I have found his post<i> Dark Knight</i> work hit or miss. The art is always great, there's usually some clever social commentary and comments on the artform itself, but the stories themselves haven't always landed the right way with me. I used to love the trick of bringing in a favorite or overlooked character--especially a rebooted one-- for a cameo or for a few pages or even for an entire arc (one-armed Green Arrow in<i> Dark Knight</i>, for example). I think Miller may have helped invent that trope, but I see it so often now it doesn't thrill me as much. I finished this one wishing I'd liked it more than I did.</div>
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Some nonfiction:</div>
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8.<i> </i><i>Mind to Matter: The Astonishing Science of How Your Brain Creates Material Reality</i> Dawson Church and Dr. Joe Dispenza</div>
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Mmm I'm not entirely sure this one qualifies as non-fiction, although there were a number of interesting ideas and theories in the book--but maybe that is just my brain trying to create reality, material or otherwise. Although a skeptic, I'm a sucker for books like this--anything that purports to give the reader a mental edge, a more efficient brain or body, or access to natural or supernatural powers.</div>
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9.<i> Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth</i> David Brown</div>
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Many years ago, part of my job duties included calling customers who had services performed at their homes or businesses by one of the businesses that I managed to make sure they received excellent customer service. One day I was making these calls and noticed the next customer was listed as "Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon".</div>
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<i>No way</i>, I thought, eagerly dialing the number for the first time ever while making those stupid intrusive calls.</div>
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I got an answering machine--and it wasn't even one of their voices on the recording--but it still felt a minor thrill as I'd been a gigantic Sonic Youth fan since high school--<i>Daydream Nation</i> still feels like an essential part of the soundtrack of my freshman year of college, and others--<i>The Destroyed Room </i>and <i>The Eternal </i>(and much of Moore's solo work) loomed large later in life.. I was a little disappointed this book was written before Moore and Gordon split (and initially I wrote "Thurston and Kim", because that's how personal they as artists and there art felt to me. I've read Gordon's book but would not mind some third-party insight as to what happened and how Sonic Youth is still able to conduct business--a "new" live album of an old concert came out this week, and there was a release of demos I think last year, so like Hendrix, Sonic Youth may be dead but they are still mad prolific.</div>
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Despite being written while the band was still very much alive (and before a couple of my favorite records of theirs) I still enjoyed the book greatly, especially as I read it while listening to some Sonic Youth related music I'd also picked up (<i>What I Heard: May 2019</i> coming to DanielWaters.com soon!!!). </div>
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I bought the book at one of my favorite records stores, which happens to be in the very town I called many years ago, the one where M--ah heck with it--Thurston and Kim lived. I'm sorry I never got to speak to them, but really, what would I have done if either had answered, "You know, I really did not receive excellent customer service, so I'm really glad you called."<br />
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After I bought the book and a few CDs we went out to dinner and I snapped this photo of a giant strawberry with crows' wings:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I should not exist</i></td></tr>
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<i>Daydream Nation</i> has a song inspired by the works of William Gibson, the lucky guy. I don't think any of the books below have directly inspired any music--although there were like three or four songs released after<i> Generation Dead</i> with that same title--and there's a brilliant Bear McCreary soundtrack to the film<i> I Still See You</i> which is based on<i> Break My Heart 1,000 Times</i> but for the record to any musicians out there feel free to peruse anything below for song material. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1">HERE</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"For the record"--see what I did there?</i></td></tr>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-65983158984363012022019-06-01T21:48:00.001-04:002019-06-01T21:55:19.039-04:00QE Results for May and the Three Energies of Creative Production Theory<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Feet firmly planted on Beale St.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">In January I wrote a blog post entitled <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/queer-eye-my-daughter-and-i.html">Queer Eye, My Daughter, and I</a> where I related some of the experience and pleasure I had binge-watching the two season of the show with my daughter over the holiday break, and in doing so basically laid out a self-improvement (or self assessment, at least) plan for the year. The plan involves taking an honest inventory of where am in life with regards to five categories, as I see them, as exemplified by the men on the Netflix show Queer Eye. And so, an honest assessment on my performance for May in the five QE categories:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>KARAMO</b>: "Culture, Confidence, Put yourself out there". 4.5 stars. I wrote <b>200</b> pages, with more of a day to day, week to week balance than I had with April's photo finish. I did not write enough fiction, I am afraid, and blaming it on my two lengthy business trips would be a little disingenuous, although I have this "Three Energies" theory when it comes to creative production. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">In short, I believe there are three different types of energy you need to have to be able to successfully perform your chosen art:</span></div>
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<i>Activation Energy:</i> This is the energy required to generate a new idea and actually get started on bringing it to life--writing the first page, getting the first notes recorded, making some marks on the canvass. I have this in spades; I've got dozens of story ideas supported by outlines, notes, and the first twenty or so manuscript pages. They are stacked up in my mind and my hard drive like airplanes awaiting clearance for takeoff</div>
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<i>Sustaining Energy</i>: This is the energy required to just put your head down and keep working toward the finish line even when every page is more like slogging through a dismal swamp than it is like skipping through a lush garden as it often is during the activation energy phase. This is the form of creative energy, for myself, anyway, that is most likely to be drained away like your cellphone's charge when you are out of network and surfing the web by the vagaries of life. The bad day at work, the routine broken, the unpleasant news, the glance at a finished project so much better than your WIP--all can suck that spirit right out of you. My sustaining energy does take a hit when the non-writing work and travel amp up, but I've been at the game long enough to figure out ways to compensate for this.</div>
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<i>Finishing Energy</i>: This is the energy--some would say the moral fortitude--to actually finish off a project and pronounce it done (which isn't at all the same thing as being fully satisfied with the project; frankly that never happens). Getting through those last twenty pages, writing your last line, completing the draft, etc. I've got this one in spades, too--and I'm thankful for that, because I actually think this is the energy many creative people struggle with the most.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">One of my trips brought me to Memphis, and I was overjoyed to have a night to myself which almost never happens for work trips. I made the most of it with a sunny stroll down Beale Street and visited a couple of my favorite haunts there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Despite my dearth of sustaining energy writing-wise, I did get out quite a bit this month--I joined my friend and HWA Mentor award-winning JG Faherty in a beautiful part of New York on a torrentially rainy night for the Rockland Teen Library Association's book launch party for<i> Scrawl</i>, a student anthology that Greg and I helped edit. I got to give a speech and I gave every one of the students that had a story in<i> Scrawl</i> a free copy of <i>Generation Dead</i>. It was a fun night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Kim and I went to an opera at the Garde Arts Centre--Verdi's<i> Don Carlo,</i> our first. I loved the music; we were seated in the first row so I could see every draw of the bow on the strings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">I also started going out to the movies weekly with my father...more on that in the upcoming<i> What I Watched: May</i> blog. I've eaten more popcorn in the past month than I have in the previous year, easily. And I like popcorn.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This came out. Translation: The Curse. There's no curses in the movie or the book...talk about a red herring! </i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b><i></i>TAN</b>: "Make an effort with your personal appearance". A raise to 3. I've been going out more and have gotten better at dressing accordingly; the concert t-shirts are now relegated mostly for lounge-around-the-house wear. I'm putting all of my new slimmer fitting clothes to actual use.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me making an effort with my personal appearance at Tater Red's. I'm well aware I'm cenobite-esque, thank you very much</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>BOBBY:</b> "Create and maintain a physical environment that promotes productivity, creativity and inner harmony". I'm keeping it at 3.5, mostly because of more work on the yard and a quick tidying of my home office. I also got the pool opened up--and the pool is huge in promoting "productivity, creativity, and inner harmony" but I'm having a little trouble getting the chemistry of it just right, which has never happened before.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>ANTONI:</b> "Make nutrition healthy and enjoyable, cook for others". 2.5 still. Kim and I hosted the family for a Memorial Day cookout and I made potato salad and manned the grill--rather pedestrian, just burgers and dogs but I will say they were cooked perfectly and according to taste. Stuck to my diet but wasn't irrationally rigid about it either.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>JONATHAN:</b> "Take care of yourself physically" Staying at a 4. I ran 118.6 miles, making May my fifth consecutive +100 month, a feat I'm certain I've never done before in my life. In five months, I've eclipsed my totals <i>for the entire years</i> of 2018, 2016, 2015, 2013, and 2012. I started keeping track of such things in 2011, the year I set my personal best, and now only that and 2017 (I beat 2014 on the first day of June!) stand in my way for a new yearly record. </span></div>
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Some lifting, but not as consistent as I'd like to be. But the results are starting to show...</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> 17.5 my high but with only one bump in one category. Progress is progress, though.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Reading/watching/listening posts will soon follow.</span></div>
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I combine reading and listening, and writing, in my novel<i> Aural History,</i> which you can find<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Dead-Daniel-Waters-ebook/dp/B01G4UQ0Z8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Generation+dead&qid=1554305209&s=gateway&sr=8-1">HERE</a>, along with my other ghost/zombie/human/punk/metal/sporto novels below...</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-23140477419761968982019-05-18T19:45:00.001-04:002019-06-25T16:36:51.935-04:00What I Watched: April 2019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who watches the watchman watching the watchers?</td></tr>
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Ramped up my TV/Movie watching in April! Whooooohoooo! Sort of. A little vacation time and my son returning home helped out considerably.<br />
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1.<i> The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,</i> Episodes 9 and 10<br />
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Loved this show so much I'd watch it again. Such an interesting period of American history captured so well (I think, I wasn't alive). I loved the scenes in the Catskills and the scenes in the clubs; Alex Borstein's portrayal of Susie Myerson is delightful, and I'm apparently at the right age to completely identify with Tony Shalhoub's Abe Weissman despite having many, many differences (wish I had been a college professor, though). Luke Kirby's Lenny Bruce appearances amp the show up several notches. Sunny and bright (yet with threads of darkness lurking) and socially sharp, I can't recommend the show enough. I can't decide which season I enjoy more so I'll just consider them both necessary pieces of a unified whole.<br />
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2.<i> </i><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Day Time Ended</i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> (Season Twelve)</span><br />
3.<i> Mystery Science Theater 3000, Killer Fish</i> (Season Twelve)<br />
4. <span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Final Conflict</i> (Season Nine)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Cormac was home from college and we had a bit of a marathon. I think I watched most of<i> Killer Fish </i>(Not to be confused with Season Nine's<i> Devil Fish</i>) by myself, which instantly put me in the groove to watch more. I've seen almost all of MST3Ks run but hadn't yet gotten around to watching the newest Netflix season. I was not disappointed.<i> Killer Fish</i> is a as pure a document of seventies entertainment as you will find, starring Lee Majors, Karen Black, and poor doomed Margaux Hemingway in an adventure with a sunken treasure in a reservoir filled with piranha. Brilliant.<i> The Day Time Ended</i> is a 1980 sf laff riot set on an Arizona horse farm with lots of reptilian stop-motion action and lasers. Cormac watched maybe half of that one, and then I encouraged him to watch one of my favorite MST3Ks of all time,<i> The Final Conflict.</i> He fell in love with the hilarious "heroism" of Zap Rowsdower as deeply as I did, I think, which gives me hope for humanity.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Tickets to this show at the wonderful Garde Arts Center, a birthday present from my brother. Interesting indie film shot and produced here in Connecticut by a very youthful team of creators. There was an insightful Q&A after the show, I asked a question: "Did the shooting script change much during the filming and production?"</span><br />
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I saw this with Kim on vacation in Florida via pay-per-view<i>. </i>Cooper and Gaga were both great and I love them in just about everything I've seen them in and I suppose this film deserved everything it achieved.<br />
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By the way, the greatest heavy metal cover of a pop song of all time? Arthemis's cover of Lady Gaga's<i> Paparazzi</i>, narrowly edging out Anthrax's cover of Joe Jackson's<i> Got the Time.</i> You can download it for free off the band's website.<br />
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7.<i> Aquaman</i><br />
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Kim didn't make it through this one despite all the Momoa. It sure looked pretty (the movie, and yeah, Momoa) especially when the action went underwater. But maybe super hero movies have jumped the shark? Don't forget to tip your waitress!<br />
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8.<i> The Romanoffs Season 1 Episodes 1-3</i><br />
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After Maisel, Kim and I wanted to dive into this one as we're relentless <i>Mad Men</i> fans. This one is quite different tonally from<i> Mad Men</i> and...just about anything else I've ever watched. Will reserve judgement and more detailed commentary until we've watched it through. Nice, though, to see<i> Mad Men</i> alumni.<br />
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Wow! That's a lot of viewing for me, and one of the entertainments listed above required me to leave the house.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">My books can be found <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1">HERE</a> for pennies a page.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugodV2RvrU2kn6vhWJyjyjfc-m9j8Li0lPQXoc0awJzQR5fvdnKrOARc9EM4Sl54niJp2hVB0C1r3OWe6WpqAi3eP9d5K5y3bz39191aBmQz8pNPZphj6kK367Ku7B5VY-aMyziGIwzcH/s1600/My+Books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="473" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugodV2RvrU2kn6vhWJyjyjfc-m9j8Li0lPQXoc0awJzQR5fvdnKrOARc9EM4Sl54niJp2hVB0C1r3OWe6WpqAi3eP9d5K5y3bz39191aBmQz8pNPZphj6kK367Ku7B5VY-aMyziGIwzcH/s320/My+Books.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">None of these is a television show. Yet.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-54395955931493299982019-05-11T12:31:00.001-04:002019-05-11T12:31:32.791-04:00What I Read: April 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEY_ZBaf8BsysQUq5XWz5_L2DKJQnhFjZk4Kr4aUTLTz5j5OgWBIXdTqmff7xT-Ju4l1f5Q4LjZr_KS5Uv3VnDw6H2u7BdxJkR1g0bODClzI8YU3OYpQz8AJ-RNCfYzteK6CPh8w28iah/s1600/James+Warren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEY_ZBaf8BsysQUq5XWz5_L2DKJQnhFjZk4Kr4aUTLTz5j5OgWBIXdTqmff7xT-Ju4l1f5Q4LjZr_KS5Uv3VnDw6H2u7BdxJkR1g0bODClzI8YU3OYpQz8AJ-RNCfYzteK6CPh8w28iah/s320/James+Warren.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />
Another eclectic month of reading for me, lighter on comics/graphic novels than typical, heavier on non-fiction.<br />
<br />
I finished reading James Ellroy's "Hollywood Quartet":<br />
<br />
1.<i> The Big Nowhere</i><br />
2<i>. L.A. Confidential</i><br />
3.<i> White Jazz</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Ellroy is a very interesting cat to me as a writer. In the "quartet" books, and some of the others, he employs a three "protagonist" structure--"protagonist" in quotes because some of these protagonists are as scuzzy as the more conventional bad guys they are up against--and in some of the books each of those protagonists has a foil or enemy, with all six of the threads weaving in and out. It is a pattern he's kept with the next book and linked quartet I started in May,<i> American Tabloid</i>. His energy and cadence is unique, and he does some very experimental stylistic things as the series progresses, especially in<i> White Jazz</i>, where I think he's trying to reinvent the form of the traditional Hollywood detective novel.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The dark journey continues</i></td></tr>
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<i></i><br />
<br />
As subgenres go, Hollywood Detective is one of my favorites.<br />
<br />
4. <i>James Warren: Empire of Monsters, </i>Bill Schelly<br />
<i></i><i></i><br />
Pure joy reading this one, although per usual with books combining biography, business, and beloved artforms I'm left wanting more of all three. I've have in my own vault of horror most of the early issues of <i>Creepy</i> and <i>Eerie, </i>and was really looking forward to any information on how those were started and how they grew, and also anything on the great artists and writers featured within. Spoiler Alert: Schelly reveals that Warren himself is working on autobiography, so without his direct input one wonders if choice anecdotes, stories, and details are held in reserve. Though he clearly loves his subject and the things he created, Schelly's work isn't hagiography and my guess any students/fans/practitioners of the genres Warren worked in would benefit from reading both this book and the one Warren is working on.<br />
<br />
I was inspired enough after reading the book to buy the newest issue of<i> The Creeps</i>, a Warren-style magazine on newsstands today. I loved it!<br />
<br />
5.<i> Top Secret Non-Fiction Book, Top Secret</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Research for a novel I'm working on; fantastic book and perfect for what I needed out of it.<br />
<br />
6.<i> Animal Man Vol. 5: The Meaning of Flesh</i>, Tom Veitch, Steve Dillon, et al.<br />
<br />
I have to confess I'm not connecting with this run as much as I did with Morrison's run, but that is probably my fault.<br />
<br />
7.<i> Spirit of Hawkwind,</i> Nik Turner and Dave Thompson<br />
<br />
My love of Hawkwind is well-documented, and readers of my earlier blog entry this week <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2362670344247251470#editor/target=post;postID=5243810409344879133;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname">What I Heard: April 2019</a> know the main score of the month was the RSD Hawkwind release of the month. Listening to the concert made me curious to read more about the band, whose evolution of sound and membership has continued over a fifty year span. This documents the earlier years when Nik was a member, from the band's inception up through 1976's<i> Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music</i>. Clearly only one viewpoint among dozens essential to the Hawkwind story, but a singular and very entertaining one at that. While reading I started listening to the Hawkwind studio releases in oder and I'm up to <i>PXR5.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
8.<i> Dare to Lead</i>, Brene Brown<br />
<br />
An average year will see me reading six to ten business books. this one was more interesting and entertaining than most.<br />
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Like reading? Read one of these and support my efforts at the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1557591501&sr=8-1">DANIEL WATERS SUPERSTORE</a>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLv4N0gHdLekmsKTTc2GLeLt00kAFy7AKa30W9Xgh7IOh-jdDrQM_LuBX3MZGOpGLZ_MraDQg-dxACtP5aT6nNnOkTs4CGI1vv3Q08TftdNamgn_iiOZTezxvFEtH6P8YOSx5AVbVhGo1/s1600/My+Books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="473" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLv4N0gHdLekmsKTTc2GLeLt00kAFy7AKa30W9Xgh7IOh-jdDrQM_LuBX3MZGOpGLZ_MraDQg-dxACtP5aT6nNnOkTs4CGI1vv3Q08TftdNamgn_iiOZTezxvFEtH6P8YOSx5AVbVhGo1/s320/My+Books.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Which is your favorite? Buy 'em all and I'll tell you mine</i></td></tr>
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<i></i><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-52438104093448791332019-05-09T20:29:00.000-04:002019-05-11T11:08:12.166-04:00What I Heard: April 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWC87z4fAehEZP8UMOsuHcD_o6i3BSgEo0Gqw0yOGw-zIRr7kCml2gOsRSwIY6VEI0zWwzbwKqrEmgUlG4pYhIImXY4r9JiKpavBl23sZak1CsRraQLOapA8f-8SR-O1v9O1dzzOVoN-Hj/s1600/1999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1475" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWC87z4fAehEZP8UMOsuHcD_o6i3BSgEo0Gqw0yOGw-zIRr7kCml2gOsRSwIY6VEI0zWwzbwKqrEmgUlG4pYhIImXY4r9JiKpavBl23sZak1CsRraQLOapA8f-8SR-O1v9O1dzzOVoN-Hj/s320/1999.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've only got five new recordings to report on, which might be the fewest I've acquired in a month in...ten years??? Historically, I've added ten to fifteen full-length recordings a month to my collection, so to see only four is somewhat unnerving. But here's what I got:</div>
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Bandcamp</div>
1. Hellripper,<i> Coagulating Darkness </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I'd received two tracks from this album when I was reviewing music for <a href="http://www.metalexpressradio.com/">Metal Express Radio</a> and the opening track "Bastard of Hades" is a real scorcher I'd included in my most intense running setlist. The rest of the album is similarly energetic.<br />
<br />
eMusic<br />
2. Sun Ra,<i> Fate in a Pleasant Mood</i><br />
3. Sun Ra, <i>Marshall Allen presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
One of the reasons my monthly recording acquisitions number is so low is that I have ended my long-standing relationship with eMusic. It gives me no joy to write that sentence. I was a member for over twelve years and many times my monthly credits weren't enough to cover all of the new music I wanted and I'd eagerly buy "booster packs"; alas, eMusic's selection--which once included most major as well as indie labels--has declined to the point I found it to be a struggle to find anything. I'd had about twenty records in the "Save for Later" bucket and overnight eighteen of those were no longer available.<br />
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They do have a pretty good Sun Ra selection, an artist I hold in the highest regard.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Listen. Read. Leave the planet.</i></td></tr>
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<i></i><br /></div>
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CD<br />
4. PROG 96,<i> High Hopes</i><br />
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Every so often I'll buy a music magazine with a CD, usually MOJO or PROG. This one had articles of David Gilmour and Hawklords, who sadly are not included on the disc. None of the ten songs really jumped out at me but sometimes these things take time.<br />
<br />
Vinyl<br />
5. Hawkwind,<i> The 1999 Party</i><br />
<br />
My Record Store Day Purchase. There have been a few times I've really got caught up in the fervor of Record Store Day, but this year's adventure was a little strange. I wasn't even going to go but read through the online release list and saw<i> The 1999 Party </i>and realized that although I own 53 Hawkwind recordings (and another thirty "Hawkwind Family" recordings--Hawklords, Hawkwind Light Orchestra, Space Ritual, solo projects, etc. Does not include Motorhead) I did not own this one in any format. And this one had Lemmy, Nik Turner, and Robert Calvert, so it promised to be an eclectic, high energy set.<br />
<br />
Usually when I "do" RSD, I get to the local independent record store before it opens and wait, but this time I waffled about even going and so things were already in full swing by the time I got there. The tiny cluttered store was packed and cramped with people: it was like a game of human Tetris. I walked in, turned to the bin to my immediate left, flipped three records, and there it was...<i>The 1999 Party</i>. I grabbed it, and joined the cashier line which was already eight people deep without looking at anything else. The two guys--my age, maybe even older--ahead of me in line spent over a thousand dollars combined!<br />
<br />
I felt a little strange driving home without a big bag o'stuff on a RSD, but I also felt an odd thrill of pride for being so focused. When I got home I went for a run, showered, and then queued up the record while looking through the jacket photos and liner notes. This was my favorite photo from the inside jacket:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBX_gy9jqXTAucWLRDHSgolhT7HbP5XGQW60239bBLnswRjeMQZvJwzcxLAw5hNB2QhskycOLpTtkYZmpRk-J_fN7NohncXbFazmQhfns_xA_twkI8OXtrb6G-DbjW4cIJWdTWkkSxYoIT/s1600/Hawkwind+Gaming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBX_gy9jqXTAucWLRDHSgolhT7HbP5XGQW60239bBLnswRjeMQZvJwzcxLAw5hNB2QhskycOLpTtkYZmpRk-J_fN7NohncXbFazmQhfns_xA_twkI8OXtrb6G-DbjW4cIJWdTWkkSxYoIT/s320/Hawkwind+Gaming.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<i>I doubt Lemmy was the DM</i><i><br /></i></div>
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<i></i>Can anyone identify what they are playing? I don't think it is D&D, but D&D came out in 1974 and the concert on this record was recorded in March of that year. Can you imagine playing D&D with Hawkwind? With Sun Ra as the Dungeon Master???<br />
<br />
I did. And I spent the rest of the afternoon listening and working on my current novel.<br />
<br />
I wrote a novel called <i>Aural History </i>about a musician who sees ghosts of other musicians. You can buy it <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FX4L1ZQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i7">HERE</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3CS0P-WLaSVWWBSSukipPcADmsFQbX_acw8w0i5n_4_Q6KHRHDSbNQA2qN7UTsVTpx302AvfnLEWYKWcAU2VzpRzujpnNpH-2HOoj5f0lePbIoSZQpC9ZAoaw8dJ3FMu5Nzzq8r5Ie-8/s1600/The+real+AH+Cover..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3CS0P-WLaSVWWBSSukipPcADmsFQbX_acw8w0i5n_4_Q6KHRHDSbNQA2qN7UTsVTpx302AvfnLEWYKWcAU2VzpRzujpnNpH-2HOoj5f0lePbIoSZQpC9ZAoaw8dJ3FMu5Nzzq8r5Ie-8/s320/The+real+AH+Cover..JPG" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cover Intentionally DIY</i></td></tr>
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<i></i><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-52130514105114828372019-05-04T16:43:00.001-04:002019-05-04T16:43:09.278-04:00QE Results for April 2019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">In January I wrote a blog post entitled <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/queer-eye-my-daughter-and-i.html">Queer Eye, My Daughter, and I</a> where I related some of the experience and pleasure I had binge-watching the two season of the show with my daughter over the holiday break, and in doing so basically laid out a self-improvement (or self assessment, at least) plan for the year. The plan involves taking an honest inventory of where am in life with regards to five categories, as I see them, as exemplified by the men on the Netflix show Queer Eye. And so, an honest assessment on my performance for April in the five QE categories:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>KARAMO</b>: "Culture, Confidence, Put yourself out there". 4.5 stars. I wrote <b>202</b> pages, and once again I had to grind it out in the stretch, managing to write 56 pages the last three days of the month--a Pyrrhic victory, really, because those pages are largely crap and few of them are usable fiction. But three cheers for determination.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I made considerable progress on one of the three projects I mentioned last month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Kim and I had a short vacation in Florida, where I snapped the photo above. We went to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, and dumb luck would have us there on the only day it poured. We met some old friends for dinner and generally had a nice time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Also, Hachette sent me some copies of the French edition of<i> Brak My Heart 1,000 Times</i> aka<i> I Still See You</i></span></div>
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<i>Merci Beaucoup!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><i></i>TAN</b>: "Make an effort with your personal appearance". A raise to 2.5. I bought more clothes on vacation and am generally making an effort more to look presentable when Kim and I go out. I kind of have to though, because I have lost so much weight most of my normal clothes make me look like I am caught in the deflating shreds of a popped hot air balloon. My very sizable love handles have been reduced to love pull tabs, making most of my pants, even beloved blue jeans, into clown pants.</span></div>
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<b>BOBBY:</b> "Create and maintain a physical environment that promotes productivity, creativity and inner harmony". I'm giving myself a raise to 3.5 I did a fair amount of yard work in April--I have a fairly sizable yard. My grandfather Zepherin, and his family before him, was a farmer in the town I know live in--a few years ago I went with my uncle, father, brother and son to see the land where his farm once stood but no longer does. It's less than two miles from my house. In later life he went as far metaphorically from farming as he could by becoming a manager at the plastics plant (which also is no more). He was the most gentle, kind man I ever knew, and I think of him every time I "work the soil"--trimming, clearing, seeding, raking, planting, fertilizing, watering. Watching the birds.</div>
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I love yardwork. I phrase I'd never thought I would write or say. When I was a young homeowner I absolutely hated it because I foolishly thought that every minute I spent in the yard was a moment away from writing. Years of experience have taught me that every moment spent in the yard helps encourage growth in the mind as well as in the environment.</div>
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<i>We revere corn here. My favorite headline ever...feel the horror!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>ANTONI:</b> "Make nutrition healthy and enjoyable, cook for others". I'll take back the half point I lost last month for a 2.5. I'll keep it here. Did a lot of the meal prep but the meals I prepped were fairly pedestrian. Also, I had considerably more adult beverages than in the first three months of the year, most of them on vacation. I started keeping track of how much I drank this year, and in keeping track, it has made me turn the corner from drinking "just because" totruly enjoying adult beverages--I didn't really realize it, but I was drinking quite a bit last year, and probably the couple years before that. Counting the drinks has been instrumental in keeping indulgence under control, and no doubt has facilitated the incredible boost in exercise ability and weight loss. I've never felt better, and now consciously check myself to ask if having a drink or a bag of chips or whatever will add or subtract to that general feeling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> I'm still adhering to a slightly relaxed form of Austerity (see <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/secrets-of-weight-loss-revealed.html">Secrets of Weight Loss, Revealed</a>), which at this point might mean it is now a lifestyle habit as opposed to a time-bound change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>JONATHAN:</b> "Take care of yourself physically" I'm going to 4. I ran 143 miles, making April my fourth consecutive +100 month, a feat I'm certain I've never done before in my life. In four months, I've eclipsed my totals <i>for the entire years</i> 2018, 2012, and 2013. I started keeping track of such things in 2011, the year I set my personal best, and I'm on pace to decimate that. I'd say fifty is the new thirty, but I was a fat oaf at 30. </span></div>
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I've been lifting more, too. I won't make the cut for anyone's powerlifting club, but I'm trying to be consistent and conscious of what I'm doing and I think the upper body stuff is contributing greatly to the overall.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Wow! 17, with gains in three categories in the shortened month. Can self-actualization be very far away???.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Reading/watching/listening posts will soon follow--crazily, especially as April contains Record Store Day, I had far more watching than listening for the month. Factors I'll mention later make me think this will be a continuing trend.</span></div>
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I combine reading and listening, and writing, in my novel<i> Aural History,</i> which you can find<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Dead-Daniel-Waters-ebook/dp/B01G4UQ0Z8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Generation+dead&qid=1554305209&s=gateway&sr=8-1">HERE</a>, along with my other ghost/zombie/human/punk/metal/sporto novels below...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxK4zhju8lIn8KD7hST0ieApPDlDp1vhy47XvcTOumo9CgQR38RMnE8sXSa0v09cjJqurfzaYyYVwr000hK-kdzaHP80PX7iZw_WnM36XGmnDjHCWY36MQcqtr6nIrk_yWE3u8dvO-ZKy/s1600/My+Books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="473" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxK4zhju8lIn8KD7hST0ieApPDlDp1vhy47XvcTOumo9CgQR38RMnE8sXSa0v09cjJqurfzaYyYVwr000hK-kdzaHP80PX7iZw_WnM36XGmnDjHCWY36MQcqtr6nIrk_yWE3u8dvO-ZKy/s320/My+Books.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thanks fer yer bizness!</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-27208016693357574482019-04-15T18:39:00.001-04:002019-04-15T18:42:09.734-04:00What I Watched: March 2019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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I didn't watch this movie or read this book (now available in French!!) !in March. But I sure look great and sound brilliant in the bonus feature interview.</div>
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Not a gigantic list, but nearly as much viewing as January and February combined.<br />
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1. <i>Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat</i><br />
Kim is an avid listener to NPR. She listens on her commutes, while cooking, while working out--if Kim was as obsessive as I was about listing and categorizing all of the media she consumes, it would likely be an extensive list of NPR podcasts and programming. And I'm very thankful for this, because she has clued me in to a number of life-enhancing books, programs, and recordings. She became interested in this Netflix show after hearing an interview with Samin Nosrat, the host and author of a book of the same name. Ms. Nosrat's enthusiasm for food and cooking, and her delight in the people that share similar passions, is certainly infectious, and we watched the first three shows on successive Sunday mornings with coffee and crepes. The crepe pan is one of the best gifts I ever bought <strike>me</strike> I mean Kim. Maybe we will watch<i> Heat</i> in April.<br />
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2.<i>The VVitch</i>--Director's commentary.<br />
I loved<i> The VVitch</i> when I first saw it and like to watch the director commentaries of movies I love (and sometimes movies I hate), usually finding the experience enlightening and inspiring, especially if the director goes into the particulars of creative choices they made.<br />
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3.<i> Won't You Be My Neighbor?</i><br />
Like many Xers I grew up watching Mr. Rogers and a great deal of Public Television.<i> The Electric Company, Zoom, Sesame Street, New Zoo Review</i>--and my somewhat obscure favorite, <i>Thinkabout. </i>I was fortunate as a fourth or fifth grader to have been selected to participate in the Montville School District's Enrichment program, and once a week would pile on a bus with the other so-called "gifted and talented" kids to go to another school crosstown (the one where all the tough kids went). Those sessions ran until around dinnertime, and despite (ok,<i> because</i> of) the extra schooling, those classes were some of the happiest moments of my grade 4-8 years. I recall in the first year of the program we would gather around a television to watch<i> Thinkabout</i> and then discuss the moral and educational implications of the topics presented. I didn't remember much of<i> Thinkabout</i>'s<i> </i>content when I got older (not even after buying some bootleg copies of the show off eBay--I am really, really weird), but I could remember every pixel and note of the show's opening, which I would visualize and hum during the many stressful moments of the rest of my schooling:<br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
Looking back, it is clear <i>Thinkabout</i>'s Liquid Len-ish opening spurred my pervasive and enduring love of Hawkwind.<br />
<br />
I watched <i>Won't You Be My Neighbor</i> with Kim and learned a few things--I had no idea Fred tried to do a show aimed at adults, for example. Spoiler: this isn't an exposé, so those hoping Mr. Rogers turns out to be a child-hating fiend will be sorely disappointed. And the clip of him appearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications should be watched by anyone who...well, anyone who communicates, really. If only political/economic/ point of view disagreements today could be solved with such grace and aplomb. I think the clip in the movie is truncated; you can watch the whole testimony here:<br />
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<br />
<br />
4.<i> Colette</i><br />
I watched this on the plane to Seattle and really enjoyed it; I love Paris and the Paris period scenes (I am writing this now to distract myself from the heartbreaking news coverage of Notre Dame in flames) as well as those set in the French countryside. I also like Keira Knightly and Dominic West, and found many things interesting about the film, most especially the idea that Colette was writing for Willy's syndicate under his name when she started her professional career. I wasn't aware of the history prior to starting the film (woefully ignorant on French literature, sadly), but it seemed as though some synchronicity was involved, as I started the film to take a break from reading<i> Girl Sleuth, Nancy Drew and the Women that Created Her. </i><i><br /></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The universe has spoken; I now shall create a writing syndicate. Applications welcome, no prior experience necessary.<br />
<br />
5.<i> The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season Two: </i>Episodes 1-8<i> </i><br />
I looooove this show. We didn't watch the final two episodes until April, so I will reserve my comments attempting to articulate why I love this show and this season until next month.<br />
<br />
And as always, I will encourage you to buy one or several of my books, you can find them <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1555367337&sr=1-1">HERE</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyi5e79sv55X0O9lNyVUugdLNFo53SMMcShUurlkX7NNxmUp7Re7uGuhscTX1zyySY-BrSblM_9EQ4OwA00Hk4GZ57j0J1HQmj9TpoVBAsx5iSWGUEpweZOo1MWgCcDCZdwtzSO7VEzRHK/s1600/My+Books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="473" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyi5e79sv55X0O9lNyVUugdLNFo53SMMcShUurlkX7NNxmUp7Re7uGuhscTX1zyySY-BrSblM_9EQ4OwA00Hk4GZ57j0J1HQmj9TpoVBAsx5iSWGUEpweZOo1MWgCcDCZdwtzSO7VEzRHK/s320/My+Books.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only one of these is a movie. So far.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-8024425738640236002019-04-10T21:33:00.001-04:002019-04-10T21:33:23.097-04:00What I Heard :March 2019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3gq_7gOWZRcoCgqxImK3yN7UGl_FgZ5zLtoB_TUsrmOQ4l0AXEKOQagPRTVomfXabSlnhNOacTDOZK6HzI7FwBryUcqhwQU36USPWrWAbBqpJKAZLWHAnhFE3RIJDr662ccHOUvSzoLC/s1600/GD+Album.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3gq_7gOWZRcoCgqxImK3yN7UGl_FgZ5zLtoB_TUsrmOQ4l0AXEKOQagPRTVomfXabSlnhNOacTDOZK6HzI7FwBryUcqhwQU36USPWrWAbBqpJKAZLWHAnhFE3RIJDr662ccHOUvSzoLC/s320/GD+Album.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The soundtrack of my life?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
March was a big month, music-wise. It typically is, because<br />
<br />
A. My birthday is in March, and people in my life know they can rarely go wrong with music or books<br />
<br />
B. My birthday is in March, so I tend to treat myself<br />
<br />
C. Kim and I try and squeeze in some road trips in March, and all roads tend to lead to record stores eventually<br />
<br />
D. Baby, it's cold outside, and so I'm probably sitting in front of the fire browsing on eBay--for music and books.<br />
<br />
So, March's haul starts with the record pictured above<br />
<br />
1. Various Artists,<i> Daniel Waters 50 Years and Still Undead</i><br />
This record is one of the most thoughtful, unique, and awesome gifts I've ever received. A good friend of mine had this bespoke record created by sifting through interviews I've given over the years where I've mentioned music I listened to for inspiration and/or while writing and having the songs burned onto wax. Apparently you buy the tunes off a digital platform like iTunes and tell the company what order to put them in and go and create your cover art, which in this case features ghostly black, white, and red images of the beautiful Hyperion-Disney editions of my first two novels. Clearly, there was some expert curation behind the creation of the album, as the A side is the "horrorpunk" side and the B side is the "metal" side. The gift kept giving, too, because the version of Blitzkid's "Pretty in a Casket" was different than the one currently in my collection, and such things are important to me.<br />
<br />
I have a large vinyl collection. And a new favorite record.<br />
<br />
As though that wouldn't be a thoughtful enough gift, my friend also researched albums that hit Billboard's #1 spot the year I was born, so I also received<br />
<br />
2. Johnny Cash,<i> Johnny Cash at San Quentin</i><br />
3. Original Broadway Cast,<i> Hair Soundtrack</i><br />
4. Blind Faith,<i> Blind Faith</i><br />
5. Blood, Sweat and Tears,<i> Blood, Sweat and Tears</i><br />
<i></i>6. Supremes & Temptations,<i> The Original Soundtrack from TCB</i><br />
7. Tommy Roe,<i> Tommy Roe's Greatest Hits</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
His birthday is also in March; we tend to go overboard. Any guesses as to which of 2-7 is my favorite?<br />
<br />
Then there were a couple iTunes purchases:<br />
<br />
8. Buckcherry,<i> Warpaint </i><br />
Buckcherry is an artist I buy new releases from on release day. I love Buckcherry and have probably seen them live more than any other band in the last decade or so<br />
9. Cheap Trick, <i>The Epic Archive Vol. 3</i><br />
Cheap Trick is another artist I'll buy on release day, and I bought this after seeing them in concert a few weeks prior. Many, many years ago I was on some promotional live internet chat with Rick Neilson and Robin Zander, and I asked if the band was ever going to compile all of the songs they had on soundtracks--"Mighty Wings" from<i> Top Gun</i>, "Up the Creek" from that stellar movie, etc. I'd tracked most of them down (many were vinyl only for a long time) but there were a few that proved elusive. Rick answered me, "Yeah, someday we should do that." Someday has come, and I finally have their cover of "Money (That's What I Want) from the<i> Caddyshack II</i> Soundtrack.<br />
One of my favorite bands, the only one I have seen in four different decades, surprisingly.<br />
10. Kate Bush,<i> Never For Ever</i> I don't know how I lived this long without having this one; I've got all her others and some weird non-catalogue stuff besides. "Delius (Song of Summer)" is now one of my favorite songs of hers.<br />
11. Various Artists,<i> Ultra Lounge:</i><i>Organs in Orbit </i><br />
I loved the Ultra Lounge series even before I joined AARP (that's a joke, so, I say it's a joke!). I've got fourteen of them and will add one whenever the mood strikes. This one isn't one of my favorites--I'm partial to<i> Mondo Exotica</i> and<i> Rhapsodesia</i>, but the quest for new sounds continues.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaPaO-kLpnu_UziSae9LH8CPnQBSvXdfTmUV-4Sg0tptHepGncytFjzp3oPbwXxKeoWQAq5SlvaNStpOYQ5BZ7Q9tOYywQFxIEz_C5sojLLhT5WYoc0YiisV42eTA6TQ_u0uZQDC4AP9T/s1600/organs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="340" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaPaO-kLpnu_UziSae9LH8CPnQBSvXdfTmUV-4Sg0tptHepGncytFjzp3oPbwXxKeoWQAq5SlvaNStpOYQ5BZ7Q9tOYywQFxIEz_C5sojLLhT5WYoc0YiisV42eTA6TQ_u0uZQDC4AP9T/s320/organs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now playing in my space-age married guy pad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Then my eMusic purchases:<br />
12. The Adverts,<i> Cast of Thousands</i><br />
13. The Adverts,<i> Crossing the Red Sea</i><br />
14. Coleman Hawkins,<i> The Acetate Masters Collection</i><br />
15. The Sun Ra Arkestra Under the Direction of Marshal Allen,<i> Live at Babylon</i><br />
These were all great, but I worry that eMusic doesn't seem to be pulling new labels like they used to. Almost everything in my "Save For Later" list disappeared by the time I went to make my selections.<br />
<br />
Then a couple record store purchases:<br />
16. Bill Callahan,<i> Live at Third Man Records</i><br />
No clue how I missed this when it came out in November. Add Mr. Callahan to the list of artists I (try to) buy on release day. I've probably listened to<i> Dream River</i> and<i> Apocalypse</i> a couple times a month since I discovered them a few years ago.<br />
17. Jimmy Page & Black Crowes,<i> Live at the Greek</i><br />
<br />
And then there's this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHxXLlBb92ySA59esFiMDF3fafWcArrGrWcVuof5cQEMVaaM6Ss7uIX87ws7_9vyYsYStSEBCfJ5P4cTuJ2eIXaD4bnu8BmDDi9U9Kg1ndOpZyXblMrmk-b4jU94phZ4vxiVoNrUQSaIy/s1600/Sin+Theta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="626" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHxXLlBb92ySA59esFiMDF3fafWcArrGrWcVuof5cQEMVaaM6Ss7uIX87ws7_9vyYsYStSEBCfJ5P4cTuJ2eIXaD4bnu8BmDDi9U9Kg1ndOpZyXblMrmk-b4jU94phZ4vxiVoNrUQSaIy/s320/Sin+Theta.jpg" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SIN THETA EP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
18. Sin Theta,<i> Sin Theta EP</i><br />
The band sent me this; I wrote heavy metal album reviews for Metal Express Radio for almost two years, leaving at the end of 2018. Sin Theta made my top eleven metal albums of the year list (find it on MER <a href="https://www.metalexpressradio.com/2019/01/06/mer-crews-top-11-lists-of-2018/">HERE</a> with a<i> one song demo,</i> "No Allegiance", that was how much I loved that song and the promise I saw in this new band. So when they sent me their debut five song EP, I came out of retirement to write a review which you can find on MER <a href="https://www.metalexpressradio.com/2019/03/31/sin-theta-sin-theta/">HERE</a>, and if you hop around the site you can find my other reviews--nearly a hundred of them! I love, love, love, this band--the music is like a blend of Shadow's Fall and Fates Warning and is also completely it's own thing. You can buy the EP directly from the band on the Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SinThetaBand/">BUY SIN THETA HERE</a><br />
<br />
You can also buy my books <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1">HERE</a>, and if you like my record reviews or are intrigued by my listening tastes, you might especially like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FX4L1ZQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i7">AURAL HISTORY</a>, my novel where I distilled much of my love for music (and ghosts). Only $4.99 in the kindle store!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PX3bpQnDaOccwwstzxPtoILzUTun19giTeiaDSilPGus5h6bbNRzsgXPtpatxnC1vZzc0uz82Xj7JWQIqZGOK7ZpaMfSpzCXU-pfhbQNmHfrimKPMlnehuOqUJfJByoOsswAoge3J2kE/s1600/The+real+AH+Cover..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PX3bpQnDaOccwwstzxPtoILzUTun19giTeiaDSilPGus5h6bbNRzsgXPtpatxnC1vZzc0uz82Xj7JWQIqZGOK7ZpaMfSpzCXU-pfhbQNmHfrimKPMlnehuOqUJfJByoOsswAoge3J2kE/s320/The+real+AH+Cover..JPG" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual records from my collection</td></tr>
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Quite a haul for March...and Record Store Day is only three days away!!!Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-12394471307798806782019-04-06T11:13:00.003-04:002019-04-06T11:13:45.440-04:00What I Read: March<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT56qZoL4SvpjY8TcKfMh4R5Y45s8zuNUCGaV4LBLSX4C74gUFaNm-lk9dDJdi_YpC3QCNhGrmtmqyicoYgpuxovfg1UdrweVWOh8fMbm42Y7PJsqrV4ug7Aw9RV8iZJ29TUKZwRxh7pfY/s1600/Because.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT56qZoL4SvpjY8TcKfMh4R5Y45s8zuNUCGaV4LBLSX4C74gUFaNm-lk9dDJdi_YpC3QCNhGrmtmqyicoYgpuxovfg1UdrweVWOh8fMbm42Y7PJsqrV4ug7Aw9RV8iZJ29TUKZwRxh7pfY/s320/Because.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I read this. What a cover</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
My reading in March was mostly comic books and the continuance of my chronological stroll through the entire works of James Ellroy, with a couple random nonfiction titles, one of which made a deep impression, thrown in.<br />
<br />
I finished up Ellroy's early works and his Lloyd Hopkins novels and am now into his "L.A. Quartet" series. One of the things I love about reading an author's works in the order they produced them is that periodically there is a point when the writing feels as though the author makes a significant leap forward in the mastery of their craft. The leaps could be in style, voice, plot, tension, prose, or any of a number of different literary criteria. I'm not sure I would be able to discern those leaps/improvements if I wasn't "binging" on an author and only reading one of their works once a year or so. In this months' reading of Ellroy, I see two such leaps, one of them profound, the veritable quantum leap forward, and it is exciting to me both as a reader and a writer to be carried along in the momentum of that leap. I always try to imagine what was going on in the writer's life and writing process that enabled/caused such a leap: a change in habits, a change in the time spent writing, a change in personal energy, an editorial change? Will the writer be able to sustain the new level of mastery, or will it fade--and will it fade because of external changes? Did the writer<i> know</i> they were hitting this groove when they were writing it? I, like most novelists, have had stretches where I lean back and say "Where did that come from? I totally nailed it!"; half the time my delusions are exposed in the editorial process, but every so often I'm right--I really did "nail it". Those moments are like magic, like being on an incredibly euphoric out-of-body experience. I wonder if it is the same for other.<br />
<br />
I won't say specifically, where I saw these two leaps, but here are the Ellroy titles I read in March:<br />
1. <i>Killer on the Road</i><br />
2. <i>Blood on the Moon</i><br />
3. <i>Because the Night </i><br />
4. <i>Suicide Hill</i><br />
5.<i> The Black Dahlia</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I wrote earlier how a number of the books I snagged at the Book Barn turned out to be signed--turns out this one was too:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNN8uD761BJAYCgw3Xi0_XGKp8QPb1OMzO5ovALe362HNH_DpyYlTZP9lPF0RWC-6TNWGDsGTnujt3SBWMTXi7ttsAGhZ61F3PU5Bio5IjMaWi04yiLWdsjBBT6nbmqxYNztZT2KWhC328/s1600/Slash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNN8uD761BJAYCgw3Xi0_XGKp8QPb1OMzO5ovALe362HNH_DpyYlTZP9lPF0RWC-6TNWGDsGTnujt3SBWMTXi7ttsAGhZ61F3PU5Bio5IjMaWi04yiLWdsjBBT6nbmqxYNztZT2KWhC328/s320/Slash.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wonder who the "Slash" was for?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i><br /></i>
I also read a number of comic books--or graphic novels, if you prefer--especially the week I was sick and just wanted to lie in bed reading with a cup of tea on the night table. I blame/thank Tom King and Neil Gaiman for re-sparking my interest.<br />
<br />
6.<i> Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus vol. 1</i> Wow. Just...wow. I have a massive comic book collection from the 60's, 70's, and 80's, and somehow managed to miss out on nearly all the 4th World stuff despite being a big Kirby fan (I have a complete run of<i> Kamandi, </i>to this day one of my favorite titles). Great reading when feverish.<br />
7.<i> Ice Cream Man vol 1. Rainbow Sprinkles</i> by W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Mozarro and others. A sort of horror anthology comic with the Ice Cream Man at the center of the weirdness. I get Warren Ellis's newsletter and he recommended the second volume but I try to begin at the beginning<br />
8. <i>Animal Man Omnibus</i> Grant Morrison, Chas Truog, and others<br />
9. <i>Animal Man Born To Be Wild</i> Peter Milligan, Tom Veitch, Steve Dillon, and others<br />
From my massive birthday haul. The mammoth omnibus, some of which I've read before, is among my favorite runs on any comic anywhere. I'd never read any of the<i> Born to be Wild</i> stories, which did not hit me as much, but maybe I should not have read them so close together.<br />
10. <i>Doom Patrol vol. 1</i> Grant Morrison and others<br />
Thrilled by my Omnibus reading, I stocked up on some other Morrison titles on my kindle for my road trips, and also I've heard good things about the Doom Patrol TV show so I thought refamiliarizing myself with the characters prior to watching might be a good idea. Delightfully weird, but one thing is clear: I hate reading comic books on my kindle. Yeah, the panel by panel thing is cool, but I just don't enjoy the experience as much as with the analog versions/<br />
<br />
Some nonfiction:<br />
11.<i> Traveler's Tales: Japan</i> Donald W. George and Amy Griemann Carson, ed. <br />
Love this series; an anthology of articles of varying lengths about culture, travel, history, etc. The Japan one I particularly enjoyed (though I think Italy is still my favorite<br />
12.<i> Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women who Created Her</i> Melanie Rehak<br />
My other kindle read; my hatred of reading comics on kindle is eclipsed only by my love of reading nonfiction on kindle due to the superior notetaking abilities. I, who have never read a single Nancy Drew novel (but read dozens of Hardy Boys and as many of the Three Investigators as I could)<i> loved</i> this book. I found the business and production aspects of one of the most successful "fiction factories" of all time utterly fascinating, and also inspiring. Books that make me want to drop them and start writing fiction are the best, and I had those moments several times while reading this on the flights to and from Seattle.<br />
<br />
While my books did not sell in the numbers of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, they did pretty well. You can contribute to the cause by buying them <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1">HERE</a><br />
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<i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-50573363227133051282019-04-03T19:22:00.000-04:002019-04-03T19:22:20.637-04:00QE Results for March<div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: both; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No more hallucinogens 4 me</td></tr>
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In January I wrote a blog post entitled <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/queer-eye-my-daughter-and-i.html">Queer Eye, My Daughter, and I</a> where I related some of the experience and pleasure I had binge-watching the two season of the show with my daughter over the holiday break, and in doing so basically laid out a self-improvement (or self assessment, at least) plan for the year. The plan involves taking an honest inventory of where am in life with regards to five categories, as I see them, as exemplified by the men on the Netflix show Queer Eye. And so, an honest assessment on my performance for March in the five QE categories:</div>
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<b>KARAMO</b>: "Culture, Confidence, Put yourself out there". I remain at 4.5 stars. I wrote <b>200</b> pages, displaying a little obsessive-compulsive grit by nailing the last eight of that number on March 31st late at night. For whatever reason, I've decided 200 page writing and a hundred miles running a month are the goals. As far as fiction goes, I worked on a new project, an old project, and a<i> Generation Dead</i> novella.</div>
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Business took me to Seattle for a week, and long hours and long travel made the attainment of those goals a challenge March is also a month filled with the birthdays of people I love, including myself (I turned a half century) and both of my children. Sadly, the bucket list concert I mentioned last month was postponed due to a band illness, but Kim and I still went to Boston for a day to celebrate our daughter's birthday with her, and we did an overnight in Vermont to celebrate our son's birthday with him. It was Mardi Gras in Burlington, and so I took the photo above of a very entertaining joint performance of a band called Brass Balagan (who I swear played a Sun Ra song) and puppet theater group Big Nazo. I loved how interactive the performers with the audience, especially very small (and very fearless) children who wanted to dance with them </div>
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Also,<i> Break My Heart 1,000 Times/I Still See You</i> came out in France:</div>
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<b><i></i>TAN</b>: "Make an effort with your personal appearance". I remain a two. Wearing my new clothes outside the house and getting out more, generally, but as I write this I realize I'm wearing a t-shirt that is--no joke--twenty-seven years old, and was purchased to a fit me that was forty-five pounds heavier than the me of today.</div>
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It is really, really comfortable, though.</div>
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<b>BOBBY:</b> "Create and maintain a physical environment that promotes productivity, creativity and inner harmony". A 3, although we finally replaced the leaky shower head in the main bathroom and I somehow managed to repair a Bose speaker that had gone mysteriously silent. But March took me out of my home base physical environment a great deal, so it was hard to realize any actual improvements</div>
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<b>ANTONI:</b> "Make nutrition healthy and enjoyable, cook for others". I'll take back the half point I lost last month for a 2.5 as I did most of the meal prep this month, at least when I was home. I ate out a great deal this month--business trips and lots of birthday dinners--but still kept it pretty healthy. I'm still adhering to a slightly relaxed form of Austerity (see <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/secrets-of-weight-loss-revealed.html">Secrets of Weight Loss, Revealed</a>), which at this point might mean it is now a lifestyle habit as opposed to a time-bound change.</div>
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I also finally was able to have one of these, which has long been lauded to me by people who would known as one of the premier craft beers </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It hit me the same way as the hirsute guy on the can</td></tr>
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After my battle with Oumuamua (detailed in this <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2018/12/true-tales-of-terror-goodbye-2018-and.html">True Tale of Terror</a>) I have cut back my drinking of alcohol to next to nothing, and so this beverage really did take the top of my head off as pictured on the can (and moments later I was watching the alien/robot invasion pictured above).</div>
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<b>JONATHAN:</b> "Take care of yourself physically" I'll remain at 3.5. I ran 102 miles, which includes the three mile run I took to push myself over the top, a run taken while still under the effects of the beverage pictured above, which probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world. </div>
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I'm fortunate to have been able to reach that mark, though, because I lost a whole week with some sort of chest/head cold (my massive head was fully clogged the day we were supposed to go to the bucket list show, so perhaps it was a blessing it was moved to September). I didn't run all week, and writing was a chore, but it could have been worse--last year around the same time, Oumuamua was making its way through my personal galaxy and I was wracked with such pain I could barely move. I did "take care of myself physically", though, because A. I did something I almost never do, which is take an actual sick day from work to rest and recover and B. I didn't try and run again until my cold symptoms moved out of my chest and became "neck-up", which according to Dr. Google (that quack) might actually be a very beneficial time to run because of antihistamines, etc. </div>
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This puts me at a 15.5 overall for March, an odd month with a great deal of disruption, both positive and negative. A quick side note, Karamo was speaking at a theater near the restaurant where my daughter worked; she'd been hopeful that he'd dine there but no such luck. We have yet to watch season three.</div>
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I'm going to split my reading/watching/listening post for March into three posts as I somehow managed to do an impressive amount of each activity--probably because of the sicky week where I wasn't running or writing much and all the travel.</div>
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Speaking of reading, please consider purchasing one or several of my books at the link below. The fools at OMZ Press continue to offer the kindle edition of<i> Generation Dead</i> for $2.99, as though I didn't pour my very soul into that book.</div>
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Spend way too little for <i>Generation Dead</i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Dead-Daniel-Waters-ebook/dp/B01G4UQ0Z8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Generation+dead&qid=1554305209&s=gateway&sr=8-1">HERE</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks fer yer bizness!</td></tr>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-12332129511161200292019-03-14T19:10:00.003-04:002019-03-15T12:07:41.617-04:00Synchronicity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
(This post is a both a present to myself and an early one for K., who shares with me certain beliefs Happy Birthdays!)<br />
<br />
I wasn't certain what I wanted to do with my days off, though I knew I still wanted to take them even though we cancelled the overnight trip to Boston we booked months ago. Kim bought me exceptional seats for a bucket-list concert for my birthday, but the concert was postponed due to an illness in the band, and so I was left with a four-day weekend with no concrete plan. Earlier in the week I'd felt feverish and sick, so at the very least I could lounge around the house hydrating, writing, and maybe watch a movie or two. I'd been in bed by nine the last three nights after short spans of reading followed by some brief hunts on eBay. What better way to turn fifty?<br />
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Restlessness crept in, however, and I prefer my head to swelling with ideas instead of sinus pressure when I write, so I took a drive. First to the post office to initiate the process of renewing my passport--although I no longer have hair and a beard, I look younger in my new photo than in the one I took ten years and fifty pounds ago. Then to the bank and the dry cleaner; driving the short distance up a gray stretch of 395 I notice a very large owl sitting in one of the barren oak trees on a snow-covered slope rising up from the river a quarter mile from my exit. Afterwards I'll think it looked almost exactly like Owl from the Disney Winnie-the-Pooh films, except with more spots, with the browns of his feathers more muted, and not smiling. Later still I'll realize it looked nothing at all like Owl from Winnie-the-Pooh but will remain convinced I actually saw it. After my errands, I drive south for an exit, get off the highway, and then return north in a big circle hoping to catch a second glimpse but no such luck. I head home, debating on going to the Book Barn to visit their Downtown location to check out the graphic novels, but decide against it because I was just there a week or so ago.<br />
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Whooo is that behind me?</div>
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(Photo by Linda Waters I never saw this owl)</div>
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I've been on a graphic novel kick lately, which probably has something to do with...turning fifty. The whole not-wanting-to-lose-touch-with-your-youth thing, the idea of wanting to stay in touch with that kid even though every last vestige of him has slid from the mirror even before I've picked up my razor. I don't imply that graphic novels or comic books are purely the providence of childhood or anything equally ignorant--if you are hoping for a rant against the newest Avengers trailer or Captain Marvel just move along--but from a personal perspective my love of comics came at a very early age, and I bought them all the way through high school and college, then quit for a few years when money was tight, and then used the birth of my kids as a great excuse to start buying them again, which we did until they lost interest in them. I never quit entirely, though, and there are times--the stressful times, the lost times, the times I feel like crap and want to stay in bed, where I want to read them even more. I finished reading the first volume of Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus when the sickness first started--talk about a gateway drug!<br />
<br />
So I arrive home, play with the dogs, make some lunch, do the dishes, get the mail, play with the dogs some more. I decide I'll go downstairs and watch a movie, but before I do I check social media.<br />
<br />
The very first thing in my feed is a tweet from the Book Barn (yes, I follow used book stores on Twitter. Other people follow Kardashians or Tucker Carlson. Sue me.) that says "We have a really nice lot of comics and graphic novels on the way Downtown"<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">What the hell, I think, and get in the car, and drive south. The weird thing is, I looked for three things on eBay the night before: the 2nd volume of Kirby's 4th World Omnibus, the 2nd volume of the Kamandi Omnibus, and the second Animal Man collection. None of those are exactly household names; comic book readers my age would be familiar with all of them, but I have no idea what the comic book readers who started in the nineties would know of them. So I was kind of surprised when I got to the Book Barn Downtown just as there were shelving the "nice lot" of graphic novels and the first thing I see on the table is</span><i style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> the complete run</i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> of Animal Man graphic novels, beginning with the hardcover edition of the Animal Man Omnibus. I'd expected a bunch of X-Men and Batman stuff (and was not disappointed; see above) and probably some of the more well-known Marvel titles (again, see above) but not the primo HC editions and off-beat titles (</span><i style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Xenozoic</i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">? Three volumes of the Marv Wolfman/Gene Colan </span><i style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Tomb of Dracula</i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">?, so it was well-worth the trip.</span></span><br />
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So, synchronicity. Why was it I'd picked last night, after probably a decade of not thinking about<i> Animal Man</i>, to research<i> Animal Man</i>? And why is it that I put in "Make an Offer" bids on both the 4th World and Kamandi omnibuses last night (one shot down, one I'm still awaiting a reply on) but<i> not</i> on the much more affordable<i> Animal Man</i> volume two? Clearly, the universe wants me to read<i> Animal Man</i> (and<i> The Uncanny Avengers,</i> and that Fantastic Four stuff is that White Tiger oh yeah I heard the Human Torch flamed out), but<i> why?</i> Why did all of those tiny, butterfly wing-flap events occur in just that precise order to conspire to bring me to the Book Barn, part with some money, and depart with the above haul of books--books that had literally just been brought in, almost as though the universe had summoned them for me today, the ides of the ides of March, pie day, the fiftieth anniversary of my birth?<br />
<br />
And why, upon returning home, do I see that a gift bag has been left on the front steps, a kind present from my mother-in-law, and that the gift bag contains four items...a card (with an owl on it), a bottle of wine, a gift certificate to a restaurant and a second gift certificate....<br />
…..to the Book Barn?<br />
<br />
Not so strange, you might say, if you are of a skeptical nature, as I usually am. It was a "nice lot" of graphic novels, after all, and the work of Grant Morrison is bound to show up somewhere in such a lot. His run on<i> Animal Man</i> was legendary (Brian Bolland covers!) and helped boost Vertigo's growing reputation and increasingly solid line; just because you've never seen it at the Book Barn doesn't mean there aren't thousands of copies sitting on the shelves of once passionate collectors in need of a serious downsizing. And the one thing you request from your mother-in-law for a gift is a Book Barn gift certificate. Although you protest otherwise, you are always checking social media, and so it was only a matter of time before you'd see some X tweet that eventually yielded a Y result. There's no magic here, there's no mystery. It's just some random stuff that happened on a Thursday you decided to keep as a vacation day even though the concert of a lifetime was cancelled. Turning fifty is just another day no matter how hard you try and inject some magic realism into the rather mundane proceedings. Sure, renewing the passport is a nice touch (the literal<i> passport to adventure!</i>), but dropping off the <i>dry cleaning</i>? For this you burned a precious vacation day?<br />
<br />
Yes, for this. For this, and for the other pages I wrote earlier today, and those I will write tonight. And also for this large box of beautiful pictures and thrilling stories. I will end my "vacation day" with one of those books, propped up in bed, a glass of diet root beer on the nightstand beside me, and somehow I will feel not only a direct link with the eight year old boy who engaged in a similar way with different stories (albeit without the thick reading glasses I'll be peering through) and with the even older man who I will some day be who, if the universe continues to conspire, will still engage. in that way with even more stories. And in engaging, continue to create his own.<br />
<br />
And in creating, will feel a direct link not only to those past, present, and future selves, but in<i> all</i> selves, in<i> all</i> things.<br />
<br />
I can't wait.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only $2.99 for kindle! Find it and my other stuff <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1">HERE</a></td></tr>
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<br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-70239213781326063732019-03-09T19:21:00.000-05:002019-03-09T19:21:27.504-05:00What I Watched, Heard, and Read in February<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing to do with today's post, but I love this portrait. It hangs in a restaurant in Boston.</td></tr>
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A short but productive month writing, running, and reading. February has never been my favorite month and once again there was a family health scare (these tend to happen most often when I am away) but am thankful to report the scare is now in the rearview.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying High Again</td></tr>
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WHAT I WATCHED:<br />
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1.<i> The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 1</i>--This was something Kim heard about and suggested we watch; I was maybe fifteen minutes into the first episode before I fell completely in love with the show and nearly everything about it. I never realized how weak my film literacy was until I was able to visit the set of<i> I Still See You, </i>how much I just never noticed before when it came to the actual mechanics and construction of film and since that wonderful experience have found myself noticing all sorts of things I wouldn't have noticed prior--fabrics and textures of the wardrobe jump out at me watching<i> Maisel</i> as much as the wonderful soundtrack.<br />
<br />
One of the things I appreciate the most about this show is that it manages to be dramatic and socially conscious while at the same time being very positive and winsome--it somehow combines the plucky/can-do/let's-put-on-a-show spirit of fifties sit-coms with adult humor, themes, and insight. Most of my favorite television is very, very dark and/or laden with death--<i>The Wire, The Sopranos, Black Sails--</i>even<i> Mad Men </i>contains a great deal of darkness, so to fall so utterly in love with the world of<i> Maisel</i> was a wonderful surprise, especially in February, the darkest month of all.<br />
<br />
2.<i> Straight-Jacket--</i>Another nice February surprise was being able to catch this nutty old Joan Crawford movie--hosted by Svengoolie!--when I was on the road. I grew up on Channel 56's Creature Double Features and have written extensively of my MST3K love and have often been curious to see other movies "curated" by horror hosts, and eating a large pile of Chinese food while watching Svengoolie's goofy skits and trivia lessons was a delight I should treat myself to more often. Sadly, MeTV is not available in my neck of the woods.<br />
<br />
With the exception of a few quarters of basketball watched with my son, that is the sum total of my television watching for the month...no wonder my film literacy is so weak!<br />
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WHAT I HEARD:<br />
1. <i>Encore--</i>The Specials.<i> </i>Spectacular. Their first album with Terry Hall in something like twenty years; don't wait so long for the next!<br />
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2. <i>Feral Roots--</i>Rival Sons<br />
3.<i> Good Old Broadway--</i>Coleman Hawkins. My first Coleman Hawkins record. Love at first listen.<br />
4.<i> Complete Performances with the Lighthouse All-stars--</i>Chet Baker & Miles Davis<br />
5.<i> SYR 8</i>--Sonic Youth<br />
6.<i> Goodbye 20th Century SYR 4--</i>Sonic Youth<br />
7.<i> Olive's Horn SYR 7--</i>Kim Gordon<br />
8.<i> The Evening Redness in the West--</i>Nim Vind. Great horrorpunk-ish artist<br />
Items 3-8 were through eMusic and now I have all of the SYR releases because I'm a completist.<br />
9-14. 6 Elvis Presley double discs from the Time-Life series. These are great, but the collection I acquired was missing the volume I really wanted, which was the Gospel one. Oh well.<br />
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WHAT I READ:<br />
1.<i> The End of the End of the Earth</i>--Jonathan Franzen. Essays, many about birds. Includes his very short and very controversial "Rules for Writing" essay.<br />
2.<i> Once Upon a Time--</i>Larkin, ed. Essentially a fantasy art book, not much reading involved.<br />
3.<i> Time & Overdrive</i>--Vol 3 of<i> Cadillacs and Dinosaurs</i> by Mark Schultz. You'll notice a lot of art and comics in my Feb. reading. I read things like this all year, but just this very moment I might amp it up in February as a primitive form of self-care to endure that hated month.<br />
4.<i> The Authority--</i>Warren Ellis. I'm a fan of Mr. Ellis's, and have bought many a book based on his newsletter recommendations. One will show up in March. I couldn't help but notice that The Authority's spaceship looks quite like my very own Oumuamua.<br />
5.<i> Amberstar</i>--Bruce Jones. What a weird and fun book featuring mostly purple-palette-ed photos altered by arcane pre-Photoshop techniques to tell a science fictional story. Mr. Jones wrote many of my favorite comics, including the <i>Twisted Tales </i>and <i>Alien Worlds</i> series' from Pacific Comics and then Eclipse Comics. Those titles definitely put a few warps in my record.<br />
6. <i>The Braindead Megaphone</i>--Charles Saunders<br />
7. <i>The Song is You</i>--Megan Abbott A great noir, I didn't realize it until after I finished the book that she is set to be a Guest of Honor at NECon this year.<br />
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I judge books by covers. Both cover and content are great.</div>
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8. <i>Doo Wop</i>--"Cousin Brucie" Morrow<br />
9. <i>Futuropolis--</i> Robert Sheckley<br />
10.<i> I Am Providence--</i>Nick Mamatas<br />
11.<i>Safe in Place--</i>Brendan Halpin. A YA, one of the best novels I've read this year, full of heart, humor, and insight. I've enjoyed everything I've read of Mr. Halpin's work but this is one of my favorites. Brendan also offer services as a writing coach; check him and his bibliography out <a href="http://www.bostonwritingcoach.com/">HERE</a><br />
12.<i> Brown's Requiem</i>--James Ellroy. My Ellroy odyssey begins! I may save commentary until I'm complete with his oeuvre, at which point I'll write a separate post. Probably.<br />
13.<i> Clandestine--</i>James Ellroy<br />
14.<i> World's End</i>--Neil Gaiman and a host of brilliant artists. I'd read this one before--and owned it-- before buying this second copy at the Book Barn. Despite my vast library of books, comics, and music, I never accidently bought stuff I already owned until a few years ago. I am nearly half a century though, and should probably be kind to myself. And this one had a different cover! Anyway, I'm glad I reread it because it is great and beautiful and has one of my favorite ever panels from a lifetime of reading comics. And now I'm inspired to go back and reread the whole run of Sandman.<br />
15.<i> Hotels of North America</i>--Rick Moody. I liked Moody and I liked this book a great deal, reading it as I did poolside at a Hampton Inn. A nice companion book to the<i> Cheap Hotels</i> book from <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/02/content-with-content-media-consumed-in.html">LAST MONTH</a><br />
16.<i>Mister Miracle</i>--Tom King and Mitch Gerads. Loved it. It inspired me to go read all of the Kirby Fourth World stuff, which shockingly I have only read a few random pieces of, and I'll probably revisit that run of Justice League where Scott Free was part of the roster.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoatBc73ATP5ZAhRZ_QR-fLcbE82uAta9wCT4RIFl0aRfx42SJ3ywwrZeJ01Jhm5SEgcfcBDmkOenQVGv2DeqRHHET2JwyIEyjnc0QE-6wEiQIKnZz1V3ChoSaU4afSsOrmunoofxkdH_d/s1600/Hotel+Hobbies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoatBc73ATP5ZAhRZ_QR-fLcbE82uAta9wCT4RIFl0aRfx42SJ3ywwrZeJ01Jhm5SEgcfcBDmkOenQVGv2DeqRHHET2JwyIEyjnc0QE-6wEiQIKnZz1V3ChoSaU4afSsOrmunoofxkdH_d/s320/Hotel+Hobbies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
17.<i> Demons By Daylight--</i>Ramsey Campbell. I've met Mr. Campbell a couple times although I doubt he would remember me (although he was in the audience during a panel I was on at Stokercon last year; somewhat intimidating to have one of the greats of horror literature present when I'm running my mouth!). He's written some of my favorite horror novels, among them<i> The Grin of the Dark, The Hungry Moon,</i> and<i> Ancient Images</i>. Many of the covers of his books were painted by my friend Jill Bauman, who I look forward to playing cards with every year. I find it fascinating that creators I admired when I was younger and before I began writing professionally have ended up friends and acquaintances. When they prove to be as wonderful in person as they do in print or on the canvas, as Jill certainly does, it is nothing short of remarkable. As is her work, which you can see <a href="http://www.jillbauman.com/">HERE</a><br />
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And finally, if my content moves you in any way and you wish to support the creation of more of it (or if you just admire my exquisite taste), please check out my books <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1">HERE</a>. The pretty covers of most are below:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of these is not like the others</td></tr>
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<i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-69078979709448940502019-03-03T19:23:00.000-05:002019-03-03T19:23:01.458-05:00February QE Results<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In January I wrote a blog post entitled <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/queer-eye-my-daughter-and-i.html">Queer Eye, My Daughter, and I</a> where I related some of the experience and pleasure I had binge-watching the two season of the show with my daughter over the holiday break, and in doing so basically laid out a self-improvement (or self assessment, at least) plan for the year. The plan involves taking an honest inventory of where am in life with regards to five categories, as I see them, as exemplified by the men on the Netflix show Queer Eye. And so, an honest assessment on my performance for February in the five QE categories:</div>
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<b>KARAMO</b>: "Culture, Confidence, Put yourself out there". I remain at 4.5 stars. I wrote <b>229.5</b> pages, which actually eclipses the January pb of 241.5 in terms of per day average pay count (3 fewer days). I worked on the new novel, a <i>Generation Dead</i> novella, and I completed a short story, an event which happens maybe once a year. I wrote three blog posts, read sixteen books, and saw two concerts (Corrosion of Conformity and Cheap Trick). Next month Kim and I have front row center seats for a bucket list concert in Boston, her gift to celebrate me turning a half a century old!</div>
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I had a solo trip to Tampa that was half business and half personal business, but managed to fit in some writing, running, and even a few laps in the hotel pool. Midway through the trip I had wonderful paella meal at the Columbia restaurant in Ybor City while watching the flamenco show, and prior to the show took a walk around where I took the photo above of the local theater.</div>
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Also,<i> Break My Heart 1,000 Times/I Still See You</i> came out in Poland:</div>
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<i>Not my hand...I found this on Instagram</i></div>
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Readers in Poland are very supportive...I've been amazed at the beautifully designed photos I've seen on Instagram. <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Dziękuję!</span></div>
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<b><i></i>TAN</b>: "Make an effort with your personal appearance". Up from 1.5 to 2 as I have acquired more new clothes and am actually wearing them outside the house--Kim and I have had dinner out several times and I'm generally making more of an effort than I have in say the past decade.</div>
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<b>BOBBY:</b> "Create and maintain a physical environment that promotes productivity, creativity and inner harmony". A three, no real change here, although Kim and I have been working in front of the fireplace more which is a nice change of pace.</div>
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<b>ANTONI:</b> "Make nutrition healthy and enjoyable, cook for others". Maybe slipped from a 2.5 to a 2 as I haven't done any meal prep for Kim other than salads which I eat three nights a week. I'm still adhering to Austerity (see <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/secrets-of-weight-loss-revealed.html">Secrets of Weight Loss, Revealed</a>) but have relaxed enough to consume several pizzas and go out with Kim on several occasions without my usually level of intolerance and anti-fun diligence. </div>
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<b>JONATHAN:</b> "Take care of yourself physically" I'll give myself a half point here to elevate to 3.5 as I ran 122 miles and have achieved my "target weight", although I now feel I could drop a few more without harm, especially as I've relaxed a few of the dietary restrictions that make life a little less fun.</div>
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This puts me at a 15 overall for February, gaining a half star in two categories while backsliding in another. I'm not sure who among the QE men would signify as the avatar for "take care of yourself mentally" (Karamo? Jonathan?) but for the record I'd have to say I'm pleased with my results for February, which traditionally is a month where I'm at war with the blue fog and not always winning.</div>
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Next up, I'll blog about the sixteen books I read, the film I watched, and the new music I listened to. </div>
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Speaking of books and music, if you enjoy my blog and/or my young adult novels, you might enjoy my exclusive kindle novel<i> Aural History.</i> A mere $4.99, or free if you are a kindleunlimited patron.</div>
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Check<i> Aural History</i> out <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Aural-History-Daniel-Waters-ebook/dp/B07FX4L1ZQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=aural+History&qid=1551658371&s=gateway&sr=8-2">HERE</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Does the Song Really Remain the Same?</i></td></tr>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-57688701450545166852019-02-16T21:40:00.000-05:002019-02-16T21:45:59.354-05:00Content With Content: Media Consumed in January<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>He Whoo Watches and Waits</i></td></tr>
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Today marks the first of a new monthly add to my blog where I intend to let readers know what I've shaving into my eyes, ears, and brain. What I've read, watched, and listened to (just the new acquisitions; the full list of music would be absurd.) and maybe a little about what struck me in the experiences. I'm always interested in what other writers and creative folks are putting into their heads, and I thought a few paragraphs on what I've been absorbing might be interesting to anyone who has enjoyed one of my books or is considering reading one.<br />
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But first, some math:<br />
There are 168 hours in a week<br />
<br />
I sleep between 6-8 hours a day, so let's say I average 7 and so the 49 hours leaves up with 119 hours.<br />
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I am fortunate enough to have a job where I work M-F 8-5 with about 45 minutes of commuting each way. That's 10.5 hours total a day, or 52.5 a week. I often travel in the job, which could ramp this figure up to 60 or 70 hours or more, and in certain situations I have to give up weekend or holiday time, but I also have a fair amount of vacation time so let's stick with the 52.5. We're down to 66.5 hours.<br />
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I write at least 30 hours a week. 10 hours on Saturday and Sunday, and 2-ish each M-F. Blogging counts but other social media doesn't. 36.5 hours remain.<br />
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Since the start of the year, I've been hitting the home gym & with showers that's about 12 hours a week. 24.5 hours to go.<br />
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I try to read an hour a day at least. Sometimes I do more, so I'll say 10 hours a week.<br />
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14.5 left for the rest of life--laundry, shopping, the DMV, a date with my long-suffering wife. There's some variance; if I'm researching something for a book that goes into "writing"--my terms, my definitions. Here I remember the advice <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/books-i-read-in-2018.html">Jack Ketchum </a>once gave to a writing class I was in: "Sometimes staring at the wall <i>is </i>writing!". Most of my allotted thirty, though, is actually pen to paper or fingers to keys.<br />
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I mention the reality not to evoke sympathy--I have a great life and I love what I do, if anything I would escalated the hours spent on most of the segments above--but to indicate many things in life like health, a measure of artistic success, a measure of financial security, do not come easy, and they come with a price tag of time and often money as well. I've lived an extremely privileged life, in many senses of the term, I also work my ass off to make up for my many shortcomings in the "talent" department. For writers, I don't know if the time writing and reading is optional, it certainly isn't for me.<br />
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I'll start with What I Watched, then, because it's the easiest for me. I love television and movies but as you can see from the above I've not a ton of time left over to go deep into the stacks of Blu-rays I have lying around waiting to be watched.<br />
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WHAT I WATCHED:<br />
1.<i> I Still See You--</i>including all of the deleted scenes, the commentary with Scott Speer and Bella Thorne, and all of the stellar bonus features, especially the ones starring me.<br />
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<i>Guess what you're getting for your birthday?</i></div>
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2.<i> L.A. Confidential--</i>Set me on my path to read all of Ellroy this year<br />
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3.<i> Monuments Men</i><br />
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All three were watched with Kim (Date night! What a prince I am!)because to keep the schedule I outlined above, sometimes you have to multitask.<br />
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WHAT I HEARD:<br />
1.<i> Vice Squad Unreleased--</i>Vice Squad<br />
2.<i> Saturnalia of the Accused--</i>Argyle Goolsby (from Blitzkid)<br />
3.<i> The Mighty Rhythm Tribe</i>--Buddy Miles<br />
4.<i> Land of Plenty</i>--Bill MacKay and Ryley Walker<br />
<br />
The four above were from eMusic; I've been a member for twelve years. At one time they had very weird and odd labels along with the back catalogues of just about everyone, but they have scaled back so their offerings are a shadow of their once mighty warehouse of sounds. I might not make it to year thirteen.<br />
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5.<i> A Decade of Dance Live</i>--The Untouchables. Their album<i> Wild Child</i> was a turntable mainstay of my high school years and I was thrilled to learn this live set rom 1989 existed. From Discogs cuz it is out of print..<br />
6.<i> Catholic Boy</i>--<i>The Jim Carroll Band.</i> Discogs again because also OOP. I have a dubbed cassette but no means to play it and just had the synaptic urge to listen--forgot how truly great it is.<br />
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Note this is a very short list compared to 2018, where I was listening to an average of 8 new albums a week in my capacity as a reviewer for the good folks at <a href="http://www.metalexpressradio.com/">Metal Express Radio</a>; I've a great deal more control over my listening now.<br />
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WHAT I READ:<br />
1.<i> Dream Makers--6 Fantasy Artists</i> (art book with some text)<br />
2.<i> The Hidden Lives of Owls--</i>Leigh Calvez<br />
3.<i> Ireland--</i>in the<i> Travelers Tales</i> series<br />
4.<i> Like Brothers--</i>The Duplass Brothers<br />
5.<i> Dr. Haggard's Disease--</i>Patrick McGrath, one of my favorite authors who any fan of horror or weird fiction needs to check out. I'd read this one before.<br />
6.<i> The Electric State</i>--Simon Stalenhag An illustrated coffee table science fiction novella, I enjoyed this one immensely and have added Stalenhag's other work (he does the gorgeous paintings as well) to my list.<br />
7.<i> Astounding</i>--Alec Nevala-Lee A history/Bio of John W. Campbell, Robert Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard and Isaac Asimov<br />
8.<i> Three Days To Never</i>--Tim Powers. Might be my favorite Powers novel, which is interesting considering the breadth of his work.<br />
9.<i> Children of the Thunder</i>--not my favorite Brunner, but I enjoyed it all the same. As much a horror story as science fiction<br />
10.<i> The Shores of Space--</i>Richard Matheson. Genius book. If you want to write short stories, genre or not, you need to read Matheson.<br />
11.<i> The Atrocity Exhibition</i>--J.G. Ballard. I love Ballard and this one alternately warped my mind and made me feel pretty dumb at times, but definitely was one I thought about for days after finishing it. This was the nice illustrated one with Ballard's annotations, put out by RE/SEARCH<br />
12.<i> Cheap Hotels--</i>Daisanne Maclane Photos and text about cheap hotels around the world. Loved it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Imay have stayed at this one</i></td></tr>
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<i></i><br />
13.<i> The Art of Bryan Talbot</i>--Bryan Talbot, intro Neil Gaiman. Art and some text<br />
14.<i> Women--</i>Frank Cho. All art<br />
15.<i> Zombie Spaceship Wasteland--</i>Patton Oswalt. Humorous memoir mixed with comedic writings. Loved it' there were times reading it where I felt Patton and I may have lived parallel lives, especially in the chapter regarding his experiences working at a small movie theater. Speaking of theater, he's great on the new<i> Mystery Science Theater 3000</i><br />
<i></i><br />
Fifteen seems like a lot, but many of these were art with little text and all but the Brunner, Powers and<i> Astounding</i> are probably under three hundred pages. I think<i> The Atrocity Exhibition</i> took me the longest to get through but was one of the ones I thought about the most.<br />
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Thanks for taking the time to root through the junkheap of my mind looking for treasures. If you would like to pay the reader/writer bond forward, please consider taking one of my books home with you by clicking <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1550371017&sr=1-2-ent">HERE</a> and buying all you can afford. Such generous purchases will ensure I can keep reading and writing in February and the months to follow. Thank you!<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">My books</span></i></div>
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<br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-73420830300599202742019-02-11T21:58:00.000-05:002019-02-11T21:58:01.158-05:00Passions Just Like Mine--Raymond Chandler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtYyQxXt__DbsIIgLkVEXZmVP97B454uK2d1c9PK9LHDVTX-8i3raCN-2JtdBNLo775cCcr4Ca7PlJvodvrZ2vwHLZaqtwpeAue9UUBX_WHooL-hVCEcFqIx3-ucdk9qS-e4Sb71kO6X-/s1600/chandleresque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtYyQxXt__DbsIIgLkVEXZmVP97B454uK2d1c9PK9LHDVTX-8i3raCN-2JtdBNLo775cCcr4Ca7PlJvodvrZ2vwHLZaqtwpeAue9UUBX_WHooL-hVCEcFqIx3-ucdk9qS-e4Sb71kO6X-/s400/chandleresque.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
My love for the work of Raymond Chandler happened in the reverse of my usual progression in that I saw it dramatized on television before I read any of it. The item in the center is the DVD collection of <i>Philip Marlowe, Private Eye</i> starring Powers Boothe which ran on HBO from 1983-1986. I think the show was one of the first episodic series that ran there, long before HBO became the original programming juggernaut with shows like <i>The Sopranos</i>, <i>The Wire</i>, and <i>Deadwood</i> (which Boothe also starred in). There were only eleven episodes, but I must have caught the first one after school in 1983 (my prime television watching years were my early teens; hours and hours of MTV, HBO, The Movie Channel, and Creature Double Feature. Once I was in college I watched almost no television at all other than Carson's The Tonight Show with my mother when I was on break).<br />
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I was fourteen in 1983, and a heavily committed horror, science fiction, and fantasy fan and reader (and war and role playing game addict--you know, one of the cool kids), but I was instantly taken in by Boothe's deadpan delivery and tough guy demeanor, the snappy dialogue, the classy costuming and sets, and especially the opening theme song. I think the one I like is "Marlowe's Theme" by Moe Koffman, but I'm not certain because there was a much inferior second opening theme song in the later episodes and that's the only credit I can find. I've never found a legitimate recording of it but you can catch it in YouTube clips if you don't want to spring for the DVDs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kfqYNJfHUwLK_pIuP0m6WRpSVNYyLmVap1oTg3jekh2UQNBF7YNEhTrbp_FupBMva9v_UchyLbuYmVhPOGmiKwxKIIG3RmxfSdFQVOj6a9ELgHMbx6BOUdXEKT4ttDIC8UBN9w4aiofk/s1600/trouble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kfqYNJfHUwLK_pIuP0m6WRpSVNYyLmVap1oTg3jekh2UQNBF7YNEhTrbp_FupBMva9v_UchyLbuYmVhPOGmiKwxKIIG3RmxfSdFQVOj6a9ELgHMbx6BOUdXEKT4ttDIC8UBN9w4aiofk/s320/trouble.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Smoking is bad, kids. So's murder.</i></td></tr>
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On my next trip to the Paperback Booksmith I was on a mission to find some of this Raymond Chandler guy's stuff, and I came home with the copy of<i> Trouble Is My Business</i> in the photo above and was hooked for life. Not only did the show (a couple of the episodes are kind of clunkers, but the majority are stellar) and that book open up the world of Raymond Chandler for me, it opened up a lifelong love of noir and detective fiction, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">especially series detective fiction.</span> Over the years I'd read Ross MacDonald, John MacDonald, James Lee Burke, James Crumley, Robert Crais, Robert Parker, George Pelecanos, Walter Mosley, Stephen Greenleaf, Ed McBain, Elmore Leonard, Harlan Coben, Dashiell Hammett, and many others.<br />
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Just looking at that short list of authors I realize I've read at least two or three hundred crime and noir novels over the years. No wonder I have to write about my passions! I never leave my house to talk to anybody, whut with all the writin' an' readin' I been doin'!<br />
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Up next is James Ellroy as I mentioned <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/but-does-it-spark-joy.html">HERE<span style="color: #b00000;">, </span></a>and, having been sucker-punched by the mastery of <i>The Song Is You</i> by Megan Abbott last week I'm going to read all of her by the end of the year, too--anything to keep the neurons firing.<br />
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I already had a copy of<i> The High Window,</i> but as I may have mentioned elsewhere I'm fetishistic about covers and books in general and<i> just look at this:</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A confession: it was only a dollar at the Book Barn</i></td></tr>
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That one and<i> Trouble</i> are my favorite covers of the ones above; my least favorite is the Eliot Gould/rubber chicken of <i>The Long Goodbye</i>, which is weird, because that might be my favorite book as far as the writing goes. I've seen the Gould movie and many of the other Marlowe movie adaptations, but Boothe is the guy I always see in my head when I'm reading the books (yes, Boothe and not Bogart, sorry). I also love the radio show starring Gerald Mohr, but I can somehow still see Boothe in my head when listening.<br />
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<i></i>I loved the way the language in crime novels could be alternately playful and then stark and harrowing, sometimes within the same paragraph. As a reader with a burgeoning desire to write I also loved the concision and brevity in most crime fiction, an interesting stylistic counterpoint to the often florid and purple dark fantasy I'd been reading, not to mention the technical and pedantic prose in much of the science fiction I grew up on. I love the idea of being able to follow a character (or characters) through a novel every year and I don't even mind when the plots sometimes seem recycled if the character and the way they perceive and intersect with the world around them is unique. I don't commonly suffer from writer's block, but if I'm feeling like I'm swimming through mud and the work is starting to feel like something other than fun, my #1 recovery strategy is to take a break and read a couple series' detective novels--or<i> Trouble Is My Business.</i><br />
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If anyone has any recommendations for other authors or series detectives I should check out, I welcome your comments. Anything set in Hollywood--especially 1930-1960--goes to the top of the stack.<br />
<br />Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-66983409717887493122019-02-02T17:21:00.000-05:002019-03-03T18:25:07.916-05:00QE 2: January Results, Writing, and the Owl<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFFti_6ZWtdwLYle4yVtR2NNbRe1njrLL4GhCsjYwerR9G_72C1xqVhEaYZ6wDaSC7iT3G8pxA0lVcEbAA3yPg3tqkRv2C550M7dBFN-CMIGaT1RAU_nUU6iaB7fCCcNUKa-cN744btdX/s1600/The+Owl%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFFti_6ZWtdwLYle4yVtR2NNbRe1njrLL4GhCsjYwerR9G_72C1xqVhEaYZ6wDaSC7iT3G8pxA0lVcEbAA3yPg3tqkRv2C550M7dBFN-CMIGaT1RAU_nUU6iaB7fCCcNUKa-cN744btdX/s320/The+Owl%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>He Whoo Watches and Waits</i></td></tr>
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In January I wrote a blog post entitled <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/queer-eye-my-daughter-and-i.html">Queer Eye, My Daughter, and I</a> that related some of the experience and pleasure I had binge-watching the two season of the show with my daughter over the holiday break, and in doing so basically laid out a self-improvement (or self assessment, at least) plan for the year. A year, by the way, that I will--Lord willing and the creek don't rise--celebrate a half century of haunting this earth. The plan involves taking an honest inventory of where am in life with regards to five categories, as I see them, as exemplified by the men on the Netflix show Queer Eye, known to fans as the Fab Five. There's a certain value in "reporting out", both in terms of the accountability doing so provides and in the added motivation to not look like a chump for poor performance, plus there might also be a little thrill of pride to be felt when one performs well, as I believe I did in January. And so, an honest assessment on in the five QE categories:<br />
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<b>KARAMO</b>: In my previous definition of what Karamo represents, I failed to mention that a key component is how cultured one is, how open to new experiences, and by extrapolation I would add how intellectually aggressive. These characteristics, coupled with taking responsibility, being self confident, and putting yourself out there make the Karamo scale of key importance in driving one's overall QE score (and as I mentioned in the previous post, could be the most limiting if one's initial score is high!) For January, I'm giving myself a four and half. I read fifteen books, and more importantly to myself, and I would guess to most people following this blog because they found it after reading one of my novels, I wrote two-hundred forty one and a half pages this month, which is a personal best since I've been tracking such things. That's<b> 241.5</b>, and it includes a bunch of chapters on a new YA novel which my agent seems enthused about. 241.5 pages would be enough pages for a short novel if it was all one project and all fiction, which it isn't, but as the duration and output of writing is the single biggest factor to my overall happiness, I'm very happy I was a writin' fiend in January. As "putting myself out there", what little I'm doing is all virtual, but five blog posts (included in my page count) and periodic social media posts (not included in my page count) is more than I usually do.<br />
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<b>TAN</b>: "Make an effort with your personal appearance". I gave myself a 1 when I started, I'm raising that to 1.5 for January because I bought some new clothes and a watch I really like. I might have given myself a two but I haven't actually worn the clothes, or left the house except for work, a couple dates with Kim, and my trip to the Book Barn. I'm writing this now in a fifteen year old pair of sweatpants and an even older XL Haunted Mansion t-shirt, which now looks like a billowing circus tent on me (more on that later),<br />
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I did wear the watch, though. I love it. I got it off eBay.<br />
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<b>BOBBY:</b> "Create and maintain a physical environment that promotes productivity, creativity and inner harmony". I was a three last time and a three in January, although I received from my mother in law that wicked sweet owl in the photo at the top whoo now watches over me when I work, and the bottle next to him is "Phantasm", which a good friend gave me to celebrate the release of<i> I Still See You.</i> The wine was fantastic.<br />
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<b>ANTONI:</b> Make nutrition healthy and enjoyable, cook for others. I'll go from 2 to 2.5 here. My Austerity diet is a weird time for me (see <a href="https://watersdan.blogspot.com/2019/01/secrets-of-weight-loss-revealed.html">Secrets of Weight Loss, Revealed</a>) because I eat next to nothing, but I have cooked a great deal in January, mainly stir fries and exotically spiced roast vegetables. But Kim ate some of the stuff that I made and I thought it was great, so half a point seems fair.<br />
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<b>JONATHAN:</b> I'm giving myself a full point here, going from a two to a three. "Take care of yourself physically"--I had a personal best in terms of miles run in a month at a little over 155 miles, which is insane. I'm one step away from the half century mark! Last week I started planking and weightlifting, too, which I usually don't do until I am below my target weight in the mistaken and thoroughly unscientific belief that I immediately start regaining the weight when I lift, as though the meager barbells I hoist will inflate my arms and chest muscles to epic proportions after a few straining sets.<br />
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I also bought some "product" for bald men, which is supposed to moisturize and "add luster" to my pointy head. We'll see. But I am pretty excited that I got some product--I haven't had any beyond deodorant, toothpaste, shaving cream, and cologne for a number of years. I miss shampoo.<br />
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So it was a great month, self-improvement and productivity-wise. Beginning of the year, twelve points out of a possible twenty-five; after one month I'm already up to fourteen and half points with improvement in four out of five categories, well on my way to be a fully-actualized human being.<br />
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Stay tuned for February, that hideous month where I, like Karen, typically must do battle with the dreaded Blue Fog. Which you know all about if you've read<i> </i>my book <i>Passing Strange</i>, the third novel in the <i>Generation Dead </i>series.<br />
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Don't forget to click here and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1">buy my books</a> so I can continue to improve. Give<i> Aural History</i> a shot; you can read for free if you are an Amazon Prime member.Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-8425255560797045652019-01-26T16:37:00.001-05:002019-01-26T16:40:32.241-05:00But Does it Spark Joy? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Esteemed Uncle Ron and I make a pilgrimage every January to The Book Barn for opening day of their annual sale, arriving prior to the store's (there are four of them, spread along Main Street) opening. We've been making this trek for at least a decade, with only one exception (a few years ago I went alone; it wasn't nearly as fun without him). I've been a customer of the Book Barn for at least thirty years, and I wouldn't doubt if I've transacted a thousand books over that span, mostly buying, but sometimes trading for credit books I never connected with or no longer connect with. The place is an OOP (that's "out of print" for those who don't know) paradise, but also manages to get a fair amount of current stock despite many of the chain bookstores (some of which I managed years ago) having long since gone out of business. My Esteemed Uncle Ron was a professor of Humanities for many years and regularly publishes scholarly articles, books, and books in translation, primarily in Medieval topics. We have almost zero overlap in tastes (some crossover in history and what I call "drinking studies") and so he's a perfect partner to go book hunting with as I never have to wrestle him over a find.<br />
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We met at the appointed place at 8:30 and I drove the short distance to the store, splitting the quartet of donuts he brought from a local bakery on the way and discussing the weather--this was the first excursion in recent memory where the weather was both sunny and fairly warm; we usually count on the arctic weather (last year the temperature was in the single digits which was great for keeping the amateurs away). We arrived ten minutes early, and decided to vary our pattern a bit--usually we start at the Downtown location; this year we started at Midtown because that location is closing and being moved, so instead of the usual 30% off, the stock there was 50% off so the hard working crew will have less to move.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Danny's Pro Tip</i>: Nothing removes unsightly sticker gunk like GOO GONE. And with such a delightful orangey smell!</td></tr>
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Here's what I bought;<br />
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(Above) A whole lot of James Ellroy, who I've decided will be one of my Featured Authors for the year, meaning I will try and read their entire output. (2018 featured Patrick O'Brian, Stephen Greenleaf, and John Connolly). I found thirteen of his books, most of them in the Midtown location, and most of them with beautiful retro noir covers. Sharp eyes will notice I bought one title twice; not an accident, I found a copy with a cover I liked better at the Main Barn later in the day. Those with my sickness will understand. Since Ellroy was one of two authors I was specifically targeting (the other was Brian Lumley because I had a synaptic urge to reread his<i> Necroscope</i> series, which I've not done since high school, but no luck there--I usually get a dozen horror titles, but that genre was a bust for me this year!) I was especially happy to find a signed edition of his biographical work<i> My Dark Places.</i><br />
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I centered on Ellroy because I recently re-watched<i> L.A</i>. <i>Confidential</i>, at least I started to until I saw that disgraced actor Kevin Spacey was in it, whereupon I ripped it out of the DVD player, snapped it in half and then in quarters before setting it on fire and melting it into a toxic puddle (all lies; I watched the whole thing; it's a great movie and he's great in it). I've read a few here and there in the past but never in order, with concentration. I'm looking forward to it.<br />
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BTW, I'm often asked by people, some who are intent to crush out joy, and some who are merely curious, if I, as a professional author who derives a percentage of his livelihood from book sales, if I don't feel a little conflicted buying books used so that the author doesn't make a cent from them. The answer?<i> YES</i>. (Mr. Ellroy would agree--check out his quote about Granny and <i>L.A. Confidential </i>in his Wikipedia entry <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ellroy">HERE</a> More regarding this guilt a little later.<br />
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I love fantasy and science fiction art books, especially from the seventies and eighties, especially ones with accompanying text and/or artists notes. Anything where the artist reveals a bit of their process or inspiration. One of my book dreams in that someone collects and publishes a book compiling my friend Jill Bauman's art, some of which was featured in Grady Hendrix's<i> Paperbacks From Hell,</i> but I'd love to see a nice coffee table hardback of her work. The books above all all paperbacks, but some good finds--the issue of<i> Ariel</i> that I was missing, which has a gorgeous Barry Windsor Smith cover and something called <i>Amberstar</i> written and illustrated by Bruce Jones, who was responsible for the Pacific/Eclipse comics<i> Twisted Tales</i> and<i> Alien Worlds </i>among others, but for those in particular he will remain a must-read for me. These plus A Cadillacs and Dinosaurs collection, a Sandman volume (Gaiman wrote the book, he writes the introduction on the Bryan Talbot art book) with a Stephen King intro, and a volume of Warren Ellis's <i>The Authority </i>I haven't read. <br />
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Then for miscellaneous stuff, these:<br />
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I think I've read the Saunders before, but this is a nice clean copy and I don't think I own it, the new book of Franzen essays, Patton Oswalt's<i> Zombie Spaceship Wasteland</i> because I enjoyed<i> Silver Screen Fiend,</i> his recent standup, and the new MST3k. The Carver bio because I've read everything he's ever written (even the poetry, which is a stretch for me) and if I could just glean one technique or practice of his through his life it would be worthwhile, the Doo Wop book because I love Doo Wop music and style and the book is loaded with photos and illustrations, and the Megan Abbot book because I loved the cover and setting (I will read any Hollywood noir) and because it seems that I've been hearing her work being recommended often lately--I've never read any. Only when I got it home did I realize it has an Ellroy quote on the cover. The two in the top corner are off my daughter's college reading list, and the last one is called<i> Cheap Hotels</i> and is probably the one I am most eager to read. I don't know anything about it, but it is a memoir/book of photos by Daisann McLane, a NYT travel columnist, who went around the world staying at budget hotels and taking photos and writing about them. I fully expect it will be one of my favorite books by the time I'm done</div>
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I also bought one book for my Esteem Uncle, just because of the cover quote:</div>
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He laughed when I gave it to him and said he's pretty sure he read it in the early sixties.<br />
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I do think it is funny that my total for the day was 32 books, two over Marie Kondo's much-reviled recommendation of 30, once again placing me firmly outside the zeitgeist (although my clutter-count is actually 29; two are for my daughter and<i> Don Camillo and His Flock</i> went with my uncle. Then again, Ms. Kondo was not speaking to me, specifically, and the vast amount of umbrage directed her way was maybe a little misguided. I found this <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/the-marie-kondo-books-debate-has-classist-racist-undertones-that-cant-be-ignored-15796044">article</a> which I think does a better job of giving perspective on Marie Kondo's target audience and intent. She isn't a monster by any stretch of the imagination; she's trying to help people who need it, not those of us who are fortunate not to require that sort of help, and shouldn't be vilified for her attempts.<br />
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Back to feeling guilty about buying used books--I have complex feelings about the issue. When I was younger, there's no way I could have afforded the volume of books I read without libraries, used book stores, and yard sales. And without that volume of reading, I wouldn't be a pro--I'm in total agreement with Stephen King's quote about not being able to be a writer unless you are a reader. Now, though, I can afford a fair amount of new books and don't have to rely on the vagaries of the second hand bins to keep feeding my cortex. So why, if I can afford it, and not buying the books new is essentially robbing the author, do I still buy used books.<br />
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Because it, to me, is<i> fun.</i> It sparks joy, which is what Marie Kondo was really trying to stress.<br />
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I consider the "vagaries of the second hand bin" as much of a way for the universe to speak to me as the books themselves are; the greatest finds are those that send me pursuing the author's other work. I truly hope that reading Abbot's<i> The Song is You</i> and McLane's<i> Cheap Hotels</i> sends me on a quest to buy their backlists and to eagerly await their next works. Most of my favorite authors, the ones who I buy every new hardcover they release, came from a library or used bookstore discover. Of the authors and artists mentioned above, I can confidently say that Ellroy, Windsor Smith, Jones, Ellis, Gaiman, King, Carver, Saunders, Oswalt, and Schultz have all made money off me, as have Moorcock, Niven, and Zelazny, who have stories in<i> Ariel</i>. These thoughts assuage my guilt.<br />
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To assuage it further, I confess I saw three hardcover copies of my first novel<i> Generation Dead</i> for sale there, but not, strangely, any of my other books. You should not feel guilty at all about purchasing one, I would certainly not think any less of you. I would instead be hopeful that in the mystical conversation that you and I and the universe have during your reading of the book you would then fing the impetus to seek out--and pay full price for, dammit!--my other books, which you can find <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1548537685&sr=1-2-ent">HERE</a>.<br />
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I really do love the smell of Goo Gone.Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2362670344247251470.post-37510957940198105912019-01-13T19:04:00.002-05:002019-01-13T19:04:46.831-05:00A Six Pack for the New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you have enjoyed and/or felt strange or strong emotions reading any of my blog posts, please consider purchasing one of my books, all of which can be found <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Waters/e/B001JS322A/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1">HERE!</a> They are available in electronic, softcover, and audio editions, except for<i> My Best Friends Are Dead</i> (no audio) and<i> Aural History,</i> which is only available in the kindle store!<br />
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Which makes it a lonelier book than the others, in need of staunch defenders and loyal friends (and reviewers!). If you enjoy music, ghosts, musical ghosts, reading, pizza, beagle puppies, sunshine, or hygge, the Danish art of coziness, then you might really enjoy<i> Aural History</i>, for which I have made a special "purchase me" link right <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FX4L1ZQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i5">HERE!</a>*<br />
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*(Disclaimer: while there is music and ghosts in<i> Aural History,</i> there's no mention of most of the other things. But pretty much everyone likes them, so give the book a shot, won't you?Daniel Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056797282149019086noreply@blogger.com0