The last two thirds of the movie was like this over and over again:

So, yeah. Happy.

I was impressed by how much they kept of the book. There were things cut and tightened for time, but overall most of the important beats were left in.

In the not-so-great consumption of media, I tried to read (audiobook during my commute, rather) Micro, Michael Crichton’s last book, finished by Robert Preston and released posthumously. I’m a fan of shrinking people stories, and NPR gave it a good review, and, hey, the Jurassic Park movie was awesome. I gave up around the time it should have been getting good because the writing was so atrocious. Not just a bad story full of holes or poor characterization, but just outright horrific prose. I’ve been told his earlier stuff is better, but it would have to be. Sheesh. Seriously, it’s probably the worst book I’ve read in a long time. And I hadn’t really heard about Crichton’s anti-science rants before, so I was a little surprised by the climate-denying prologue and the generally bad presentation of the scientific community. More than a little disappointing.

I have traded it out for the Game of Thrones audiobook; though I have generally grown weary of these sorts of high king stories, the television series has sucked me in.

I am a HUGE Turtles fan. I was a kid when they hit the big time, the target demographic for the cartoon series. Later I got the now-rare collections of the original comics and loved them even more, because the comics were actually even more bizarre and fun than the cartoons. I played all the video games. I enjoyed the original movie and I think it holds up decently despite the cheese. I had a poster of them on my wall well into my 20s and still have that poster somewhere, because it’s totally badass. I have one of the totally awesome Leonardo figures they came out with a couple years ago. Of the various franchises I grew up with (GiJoe, Transformers, etc.), the Turtles are probably my most beloved.

People are outraged because of potential changes to the Turtles’ origin story. Well, I, for one, do not care. They can change all they want.

Because it’s being made by Michael Bay, and the film is going to be a giant pile of shit no matter what. There is nothing in his history of film that tells me otherwise. His Transformers weren’t even recognizable, much less watchable.

I am already tired of the internet machine and all the “debates” that are going to be raging from now until after the movie comes out. Uh. Just sick of it. We all need to just agree it’s going to be horrible now and then completely ignore it from here on out.

Please? Internet? Just this once?

Well this past year was pretty much a total bust for me. I sold the last story I wrote (literally days before the baby arrived), and got my Honorable Mention from the distinguished Writers of the Future, but otherwise I got nothing done. I’m working on ways to make time to write, though, possibly re-arranging my schedule a bit and re-programming the portions of my brain the control when I find it reasonable to wake up in the morning. So we’ll see.

Meanwhile, I just read this, and it’s probably the most fun I’ve had reading anything lately. You should check it out.

Don’t hide the truth!

Incidentally, I finally got a smart phone (because that’s basically the only option you have any more), and Every Day Fiction just became exponentially more awesome. I can read these little stories on my phone via my email on my lunch break and it’s never been more convenient. And those are free. The other day there was a story by a 17-year-old girl woman that made me wonder why I still bother.

I have obtained (legally, natch) Louie CK’s new self-produced stand-up special. Hey, record labels? This is the sound of your obsolescence. And it is hilarious.

(Actually, the spawn makes it uncertain when I’ll actually get to watch said special, but that’s neither here nor there.)

I am reading China Miéville’s Embassytown, one of the several books I picked up at the Borders Estate sale. It’s great, you should read it. It’s about xenolinguistics. And smashing the state.

Buh. I am tired.

I mentioned a while back that some friends were shooting a short film. You can watch the trailer now! It is beautiful and devastating. They are in post-production now.

Also, some other friends have assembled the greatest band ever. Be warned: your brain may probably will explode. I have seen them live and spent the following weeks wandering the wilds, forgetting all I thought I knew about civilization. I returned to find reality a pale, depressing proxy. You can listen to and download their album here.

Got a nice, useful rejection notice last week (week before last? who knows anymore?). I’m going to give that particular piece a re-write and see if anyone else wants it. Still waiting to hear back about my Christmas story.

I’ve watched Hell on Wheels, and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. Walking Dead is kind of on a downward spiral. The action is great when it’s there, and there is enough of the original story from the comics in there, so it’s tolerable. But the pacing is often frustratingly slow and there are very few likable characters. I should want these people to survive, right? EDIT: Just hours after writing this I watched the newest episode, and I take it all back.