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Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics). Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:  "The Soundtrackers Group"  "Invalid Item" "Blogging Circle of Friends " "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" "JAFBG" "Take up Your Cross" Thanks for stopping by!  |
"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 1It wouldn't be a true "The Soundtrack of Your Life" without including a deeply personal song, and one that I've been listening to a lot this year. This is probably the track I've listened to the most since my mom passed in early November, mostly because I find the line "'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories, and the memories bring back, memories bring back you" to be a bittersweet sentiment. While the drinking isn't really something that I relate to, I can definitely relate to the idea of spending time trying to dredge up memories because the memories are a way of bringing my mom back so I can remember her again.I honestly don't know how long it takes to grieve a loss like this, or if you ever really get past it but, for now, I'm content to have a handful of songs like this that help me grieve by reminding me of all the memories I can use to bring her back (in a way) whenever I want. On a side note, I'm including this version of the song with a delightful animated story of a little girl who dreams of being an astronaut. The song loops a bit and it's not a perfect rendition but, honestly, this is a 1000x better video than the official one which is yet another "hey let's just hold the camera close on Adam Levine's face while he sings" video.  Do yourself a favor and watch this version... it's delightful. |
So I've decided to try something a little different this year... I'm normally a voracious consumer of information and entertainment. I have a lifelong love of learning, a natural affinity for processing input, and have never had any trouble finding ways to occupy my time. Case in point, over the past five years: Books read: 540 Scripts read: 160 Comics read: 244 Podcast episodes listened to: 6,621 Movies watched: 500+ TV series watched: 100+ And that's not even counting all the newspaper stories, magazine articles, social media conversations, etc. But I'm realizing that all of this has come at a cost. Over that same period of time: Books written: 0 Scripts written: 0 I've written a fair amount of short stories and poetry, blog posts and essays, and other creative writing in that time... but overall, I've been prioritizing the consumption of media over the creation of it, and I've been depriving myself of "free time" to think, plan, and realize my own projects. This year, I'm intentionally reading less. I unsubscribed from a bunch of podcasts so my weeks aren't full of dozens of listening hours. I'm going to be more purposeful about the movies and television I watch, as well as the time I spend online. I want to create the space to spend more time thinking and (hopefully) writing. This isn't some grand proclamation where I'm going to suddenly leave social media altogether or anything like that. I guess, more accurately, it's an effort to rebalance my time and energies. I'm hoping for some real change in 2021, and I realize that's not going to happen if I don't do things differently. And I guess I'm just posting it here to hold myself accountable. Anyone else trying to make any big changes this year? |
It's the end of 2020, which means it's time to review all the reading and listening I've done over the past calendar year. Here's how 2020 breaks down:  = favorite = also really enjoyedBooks (click to expand full list) ▼ This year, I spent a lot of time clearing out my Kindle of all the impulse buys and discount books that I've picked up over the year. That basically meant a lot of mediocre stuff, a lot of which I didn't finish. There were a few high points, though, including Last Call at the Nighshade Lounge which was a fun urban fantasy adventure with a unique magic system, and Peter Sagal's Incomplete Book of Running which I found particularly endearing and more heartfelt than I anticipated. Over the past five years, I've averaged reading about 100 books a year (108, to be exact), but this year I think I'm going to scale it back and focus on being more intentional with my reading. I'm not sure what my reading goal will be in terms of actual number of books because I have a lot of titles lined up that are longer and more complex than what I've typically been reading over the past five years, which means I may not be able to plow through them at quite so quick a pace. That said, I do have a fair amount of Kindle "fluff" left (around 60 titles), so I guess we'll just have to see where the reading muse takes me. Podcasts (click to expand full list) ▼ Ironically, two of my favorite new podcasts didn't even make my end of year "favorite" ( ) or "also really enjoyed" () list because I got tired of both of them pretty quickly. But By The Book (the hosts live out the advice of self-help books to the letter and then report back) and Dirt Cheap (dramatic reading and comedic analysis of bad pulp fiction from decades past) are great ideas for podcasts that were fun to follow along with for a time. Similar to the iconic My Dad Wrote A Porno podcast, they are clever ideas that just ended up getting a little old for me after several episodes. Pod Save America remains probably my favorite podcast which kept me sane during this crazy election year, and as always, the Ezra Klein Show and The Weeds were incredible resources for deep dives on a variety of topics.Like with books, next year I'm going to scale back on my podcasts. There are several on the list this year that I'm starting to tire of, particularly all the self-publishing stuff. I think I'm hitting a critical mass where I don't feel like I'm learning as much as am just kind of going through the motions listening, so that's probably a good time to re-evaluate the time I spend listening to them. Comics (click to expand full list) ▼ I didn't read many comics this year, although I think I'm also forgetting to include all the various ones that I skimmed through during the writing credit arbitration on the upcoming Black Widow feature film. My goal for 2021 is actually to read more comics because I really enjoy them and I've been missing reading them over the past few years. Scripts (click to expand full list) ▼ I'm not putting any favorites or highly recommended on the script section of my reading list because a lot of the writers on this list are my friends and/or colleagues and I don't want to play favorites with my friends and business associates. TOTALS: 111 books, 1165 podcasts, 7 comics, 25 scripts According to Goodreads, my book reading resulted in the following stats (based on the 98 books found on Goodreads): Total Pages Read: 27,562 Average Pages Per Book: 248 Shortest Book: 42 pages Longest Book: 729 pages That's it for my 2020 reading... time to see what 2021 has in store!  |
"Resurrection Jukebox" | Day 15"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (cover by Connie Talbot} Full Lyrics ▼ Is this real life? It this fantasy? No escape from reality. Open your eyes. I’ve gone and thrown it all away. Nothing really matters. Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth. He’s just a poor boy from a poor family. Spare him his life from this monstrosity. Just gotta get out just gotta get right outta here. Nothing really matters. Anyone can see. Nothing really matters. Nothing really matters to me. |
"Resurrection Jukebox" | Day 14"I Like Me Better" by Lauv (cover by Boyce Avenue feat. Emma Heesters) Full Lyrics ▼ To be young and in love to not know who I am burning through the hours I knew from the first time I’d stay for a long time I don’t know what it is waking up in this bed let the day pass by I like me better when I’m with you I knew from the first time I’d stay for a long time ‘Cause I like me better when I’m with you |
"Resurrection Jukebox" | Day 13"One in a Million" by Aaliyah (d. August 25, 2001) Full Lyrics ▼ Between me and you I feel a chemistry I don’t mind to spend my life with you I wanna share my world Turn me inside out make my heart speak need no one else you’re all I need I’ll give you anything ‘cause your love is one in a million it goes on and on and on |
"Resurrection Jukebox" | Day 12"Changes" by Tupac Shakur (d. September 13, 1996) Full Lyrics ▼ I see no changes. I’m tired of being poor. My stomach hurts. Two shots in the dark. We gotta start making changes learn to see a brother instead of strangers that’s how it’s supposed to be misplaced hate makes disgrace I wonder what it takes to make this one better place it takes skill to be real time to heal each other try to show another way it’s time to start making some changes change the way we live change the way we treat each other it’s on us to do what we gotta do to survive |
"Resurrection Jukebox" | Day 11"Learning To Fly" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976-2017) Full Lyrics ▼ I started out down a dirty road all alone the sun went down and the two lit up the world got still the good old days may not return life will beat you down, break your heart, steal your crown, i’m learning to fly but what goes up must come down coming down is the hardest thing |
"Resurrection Jukebox" | Day 10"Just A Dream" by Nelly (cover by Sam Tsui & Christine Grimmie) Full Lyrics ▼ I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me, thinking 'bout us, where we gon' be? I was at the top and now I'm in the basement I swear I can't take it knowing you ain't around I can still feel it in the air She left me thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me, thinking 'bout us, where we gon' be? I travel back, down that road, will she come back? no one knows I just hope she know that she the only one I yearn - for If you ever loved somebody and now they're gone and you wishing you could give them everything Opened my eyes, yeah it was only just a dream I realize, yeah It was only just a dream |
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