So, last Friday a bunch of people with scattered thoughts were posting little listy updates. Now I imitate the format.
1. I’m very jealous of all you guys heading to Austin for World Fantasy this weekend. I hear even the notorious Skip Moles will be making an appearance, and everyone knows he’s usually off globe-trotting with Carmen Sandiego, just one step ahead of Interpol. So I do wish we’d be there. That said, I’m soooooo relieved not to be going anywhere or doing anything major. October was way too overscheduled (though fun) and full of colds (not fun). I basically plan to hole up for the next month and try and finish a draft of this novel.
2. Daylight Saving Time is not recognized by Emma the Dog and Hemingway the Cat, proving once and for all that it is backwards nonsense we should leave to Ben Franklin. (Not adding more to it!) I really need that extra hour of sleep, just as much as my dog needs breakfast at her usual time.
3. It’s Manbug week over at the LBC. This was my favorite this time around and I’ll be posting over there about why at some point, probably Thursday.
4. It’s very gray outside today. I disapprove.
5. Forgot to say how lovely Scott and Justine‘s visit was, and the augmentary visit by Scalzi: Much fun was had and many Mexican pastries were consumed. Especially cool was getting to see all the Uglies madness at the Indiana school Scott visited — there were hoverboards and games and all sorts of things, but my favorite was a gameboard set up like Operation, complete with bones and things to be removed during prettification. And–not to get too heartwarming–it was amazing to see how much not just the students but the adults had gotten into the books.
6. I really would relocate to Portland in a nanosecond. What a lovely city. On the flights, I managed to read two books (one I didn’t much care for in the end and another I liked very much — more on these later), write a good number of new pages of Aztec Dance Tunes, and all this despite being seated next to a very rowdy member of our military. Although I pretty much hate airplanes and the hellish, belittling, fluid-conscious experience flying has become, it sure is easy to be productive and read and write a lot WITHOUT internet access. Just saying.
7. Christopher taught a two-hour workshop on writing SF for one of the city library branches last weekend, despite still hacking with walking pneumonia, and the most amazing thing was that one of the attendees was that rarest of creatures: Someone who became a reader as an adult. It was because of The Lord of the Rings movies. He hadn’t realized they were based on books, had surgery, and started reading during the recuperation period. Has a day job where he does repetitive tasks that allow him to listen to audio books constantly. I was pretty pleased and amazed to discover this is even possible.
8. Thanksgiving is coming! Let the Thai meal planning begin!
9. Has Aaron Sorkin started to suck? Or is he just having an off-year? I thought the early episodes of Studio 60 showed promise (though I did not have The Love, like I did with Sports Night or early West Wing), but the last one was abysmal and the promise has only shown up in flashes here and there. This makes me very sad. Someone make Sorkin write something with less speechifying and cartoonish moralizing, ‘kay? Still, Matthew Perry is golden, and I say that as a not-Friends-fan.
10. Novel! Must! Write! Finish! Draft! Hard!
I read yesterday that Studio 60 was being cancelled. I guess its flaws were overpowering for its viewers.
Like you, I thought the first few episodes gave an inkling of a possibly great show, but it’s been harder and harder to defend it lately.
Agreeing wholeheartedly on Matthew Perry. That’s part of what makes the overall suckiness so frustrating, because who knows when the guy’ll get a shot at a role like this again?
Yes on Perry – he was kind of a revelation to me in this show; I didn’t think he had it in him to make me forget completely about Chandler so quickly but he did. I really hope he gets other jobs like this because the guy is really good – way better than Aniston .
I liked a lot of it, but then it seemed to stall out. I think that it’s difficult to assign enough weight to the subject or to see it as anything lighter than fluff after the momentousness of West Wing. As with Gilmore Girls, the ceaseless syncopation of the banter began to wear on me. Oh well.
At least Cracker last night was pretty good.
JeffV
I have to say, I probably would not be disappointed if Studio 60 was cancelled. I would be disappointed about not being disappointed.
I agree that it showed promise early on, but that’s been largely squandered by the writing, which has gotten worse and more laughably full of itself with each passing week. And the faults are almost entirely Sorkin’s. Before, it was just that the show within the show wasn’t funny; now, the show outside the show isn’t very good.
This is the best summation of the show I’ve read so far.
I’m still holding out some hope, but last week’s ep was the worst offender so far — and somehow managed to entirely waste guest star Lauren Graham. The show has yet to be cancelled, and NBC is apparently still committed to it. A schedule change is likely, but if it keeps up like this, I’d be surprised if it makes more than half a season.