On the Move

Yes indeed, this blog is on the move. I decided to port it over to WordPress and integrate it into my web site. From here forward, please visit: http://www.blackmountainside.com/blog/. Thanks!

Autumn Reading

Autumn is an excellent season for reading. It is also an excellent month for apple cider and donuts, but that's another blog post altogether. I like it because I can still read outdoors on occasion, but I don't have to worry about a sunburn, or I can sit by the window and enjoy the season from indoors. I have also found that I have more time with many of my outdoor activities coming to an end.

Recently, I realized that I've been lagging behind my standard reading quota for the year so I decided to try to make a little push until the end of the year. It doesn't really matter that I'm behind, but I've been wanting to find more time to read and this gives me a good excuse.

One thing I started doing was reading during my lunch break at work. I only have a 30 minute lunch break so I can't get all that much read, but it has proven to be a success nonetheless. If nothing else, I find that my lunch break actually feels more like a break. By reading, I can actually escape from the stress of work and let my mind focus on something else. So for I've read Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, which was very good, and H.G. Well's The Time Machine, which is a classic, but wasn't my favorite. I just started Joe Haldeman's The Forever War today.

I've also decided to try something new this fall. I read all six volumes of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim graphic novel. I'm not really a comic guy, but I thought the series was fantastic. Will this lead to more comic reading? I'm not sure yet, but I'm open to the possibility.

In addition to The Forever War, I'm also reading God Emperor of Dune, the fourth installment in Frank Herbert's Dune series. I've had the book on my bookshelf since January so I thought it was about time I read it. I typically only read this right before bed, which can be tough. I try to get in about an hour of reading time, but if I'm tired, I'll often doze off before I get that far.

I'm not sure what I should read next though. I've got the fourth and fifth novels in the Wheel of Time series, Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, and Stephen King's Wizard and Glass from the Dark Tower saga all sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

But what I am doing here typing? I should be reading!

Fall TV Makes Me Happy for Netflix

Needless to say, there haven't been a lot of really great new shows on television this fall.  I consider myself somewhat of a TV junkie and it's nice to have a few shows to turn to over the course of the week, but this fall, I find myself turning to Neftlix more often than prime time television.

The Event
Personally, I tried out a few new shows, but the only one that I've managed to stick with is The Event. Now, The Event is by no means a perfect show, but it's suspenseful and has a pretty interesting plot. Right now, that is more than enough for me to stay tuned.

Undercovers
I stuck with this one for three episodes. The only reason that I even watched it to begin with was because it was a creation of J.J. Abrams, but that wasn't really enough to make it good. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything special either and with rumors abound of cancelation, I decided to drop out.

No Ordinary Family
I only watched the first two episodes before I simply forgot about it and failed to record it. I think that says it all. The show is completely forgettable. I thought it did have some potential, but the writers need to find a way to make the show live up to its title.

For returning shows, I'm only watching Chuck, The Office, and Caprica. Chuck and the Office have been fantastic, but I'm still on the fence on Caprica. I didn't really like the first episode very well and I haven't worked up the energy to watch the second yet, though I did record it. I have a feeling that I'm going to give up on this one too, which is probably fine, because it sounds like it will be cancelled.

Now that I'm down to just a few shows, I'm finding myself with more time for Netflix than I expected. This actually works out pretty well, because I'm really enjoying the second season of Supernatural and the final season of Angel as much as or more than anything on prime time TV.

Chuck vs. the Coup d' Etat

It's no secret that Chuck is currently my favorite show on TV. I thought tonight's episode was pretty good. It had humorous moments, a great cast (no surprise there), an amusing adventure, and some more serious moments. Overall, it made me laugh, it kept me entertained, and it left me feeling good. Job well done in my book. Here are my top six moments:

6. The Generalismo of Costa Graves
This guy could only be more ridiculous if they gave him the line, "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis."

5. Gratuitous bikini shots
It may have been a bit excessive, but, let's face it, I'll never complain about seeing Sarah in a bikini.

4. Chuck finally comes clean to Ellie, sort of
Well, at least he told her that he was looking for their mom. Will he ever come clean about still being a spy? I don't know. Would she ever be able to just him after that? I don't want to think about it.

3. Chuck's smirk
It was so heartwarming to see Chuck smile after Sarah professes her love while she thinks he's sleeping.

2. Morgan gets some action
Go Morgan. Alex is cute, but she's Casey's daughter. I see many humorous moments to come from this relationship.

1. Awesome's statue
Can you honor a guy more than by carving his likeness into a 9 foot block of marble? I think not.

I wanted to do my top ten moments, but it's late and I'm lazy. Anyways, I thought the show was as entertaining as usual, but I'm looking forward to seeing more Linda Hamilton and Summer Glau.

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

Over the summer, the Comic-Con hype for Scott Pilgrim vs The World inspired to see the feature film in theater and, man, was I blown away. I loved the characters, the plot, the concepts, the humor, and the graphics. Overall, I just thought it was sweet.

I liked it so much that it left me wondering if Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels that inspired the film could be as good or perhaps even better. I've never been a big comic guy and I wasn't sure if I would really find the experience as enjoyable. But I was wrong.

I decided to snag the first volume, Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, off Amazon and I found it to be a lot fun. I was surprised at how closely the movie followed the graphic novel. A lot of the dialog was word for word. Unfortunately, that meant that my experience wasn't particularly unique, but it was still enjoyable.

In fact, I enjoyed the first volume enough that I bought the next two, Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness. I think the second volume was even better than the first. There was much more variation between the second volume and the movie. In the film, the plot had to keep rolling and actually pick up steam, but in the graphic novels, O'Malley was able to take more time to develop the characters and really tell the story.

The third volume was also really well done and I really started to get excited about the series. My next purchase from Amazon included the final three volumes and I got them for a steal. Seriously, if you are thinking about reading the series, don't hesitate. Just buy them individually from Amazon. I swear, every time I look, they are even cheaper. I'm guessing that the publisher ordered way too many copies assuming increased sales because of the movie, but, instead, I think there are just a ton of unsold copies in circulation and Amazon is selling them dirt cheap as of this writing.

It's hard for me to really describe why I liked the series so much. I'm not really a hipster and I don't really fall into the same social clique as the characters, but I'm pretty close in age and perhaps that is enough for me to relate to the characters and the story. Really, I think if you live in the world today, that's enough for you to relate to the story.

Joss Whedon described it really well in a quote that was included on the back cover of the final novel, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour:

"Scott Pilgrim is the best book ever. It is the chronicle of our time. With Kung Fu, so yeah: perfect."

Seriously, the writing is amazingly witty, the characters are charming (each in his or her own way) and well-developed, and the story is a roller-coaster of action-packed battles, hilarious dialog, and innocent romance. I just don't know how you could ask for more.

O'Malley is really creative about his used of space. There is content everywhere--on the back of the front cover and straight through to the back cover. He also has such a creative way of telling the story. For example, he includes the chords to one of Sex Bob Omb's songs in the first volume and in another (second, I think) he actually includes the full instructions for a vegan dinner.

In the end, I found the entire series to be a blast. I wasn't super amazed with the conclusion (I almost like the end to the movie a little best), but that barely detracts from the series. I'm pretty sure I'll find myself reading these again and again, which will be easy, because they don't take very long to read.

Caprica is Back, But Do I Care?

So I just watched the new episode of Caprica on Syfy. I wanted to call it the season premiere, but it's not. Technically, we are only halfway through the first season. It's bad enough that Syfy split up the show for this long, but it was actually going to be worse. Syfy had originally planned on airing the episodes in January. But enough on that.

Anyways, I wasn't all that impressed. I watched the first half of the season last whenever and I could never get that into it. I would watch a couple episodes and start thinking I should just stop and then it would deliver a much better episode and I would keep watching. Unfortunately, there were only enough "good" episodes to string me along, not enough to actually make me excited about the show.

Tonight's episode was just not that great. The whole religious stuff with all the infighting and terrorist plotting just does not thrill me. Some religion that is. No wonder everyone thinks they are crazy. I just can't figure out what the writers are trying to tell us with this stuff. Are they the villains? Tragic heroes?

I think that pretty much sums up the whole problem; I can't figure out who I'm supposed to root for. I don't actually like any of the characters. There are only two decent characters (Zoe and Tamara) and they ARE DEAD.

The virtual reality aspect is really the only part of the show that I do like. The scenes that take place in New Cap City are gripping, action packed, and compelling. I think Tamara's story arc in the first part of the season was the only thing that kept me watching. And now to close last night's episode, we get a kick-ass scene of Zoe in New Cap City, complete with ninja moves and sword fighting. Which means that I'll have to watch the next episode, because, let's face it, I want to see more of that. The rest of it, I could take it or leave it.

The Event

I think Monday night is my favorite for television so far this fall. I've been a pretty big Chuck fan for awhile now and the episodes this season have been as good as ever. I really do like this show quite a lot and part of me just wants to write about how awesome it is and its ridiculous stunt casting, but, instead, I think I'll talk about the other show that is making Monday night so enjoyable: The Event.

I actually saw the pilot episode at Comic-Con and, honestly, I just wasn't sold on the show. I didn't love the way it jumped around the timeline so much, nor did I love the acting.

Nonetheless, I was intrigued by the plot and watched the second episode last week. I found that I still didn't love the way the show jumped around, but I got used to it, and maybe the acting isn't Lost quality, but it's not bad either. But what really changed for me was the plot. As it turns out, the show is about ALIENS. Yeah. That's pretty cool. I can dig that.

We got a little backstory in bits and pieces and I'm really intrigued now. Apparently these aliens landed in Alaska in 1944. The aliens look exactly the same as humans, but they do have some minor cellular differences. Most of them were detained, but at least a few managed to sneak off and have assimilated into the U.S. culture. Their motives are unknown.

So last week's episode was pretty cool. It gave us this backstory, but Sean Walker's story heated up as well. One of the producers is from 24 and the influences are very apparent (Sean is basically the Jack Bauer of the show), but those influences keep the show exciting and suspenseful.

Now this week, we're starting to see how the conspiracy surrounding "the event" runs deep and discovering the root of that conspiracy is probably going to be the only thing that keeps Sean from getting killed. I'm still not sure how he is wrapped up in the whole mess, but I am confident that we'll get the answer before too long. So far, most of the answers have come pretty quickly.

I wouldn't say that The Event is my favorite show on television, but I think I can say that it's my favorite new show. I'm not really watching that many new shows, so maybe that isn't saying a lot either, but it really is pretty decent and I think its a great replacement for anyone suffering from 24 withdrawal.