You know it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these. I could make excuses, but they’re the all same ones you and all your friends are making about not getting shit done, and they’re all true! 

So, gather ‘round ye mongrels of media as we attempt to satisfy our primal urge to consume!

TV

Wandavision - So much good stuff! I don’t need to talk much about it because everyone else is doing it for me. Just watch it and then talk about it with all your friends.

30 Coins - This Spanish horror series started out great and stayed great…until the last episode. I still recommend watching it because it veers from camp to monster gore to pure horror fun and back again. The characters are well written and some “heroes” end up playing against expectations while others are just what they seem. It’s a good watch just reset some expectations for that last episode. 

The Head - A group of scientists and support crew hunker down in a remote arctic research station and before you know it strange things are afoot! The communications have been destroyed, people are dying and no one knows whodunnit! This is that fun genre of movies where a group of people are completely isolated and it constantly has you asking, “whose the bad one?”. Good stuff.

MOVIES

Sound of Metal - Can a movie about a metal band be introspective and even meditative? Watch and find out. Riz Ahmed paints an enthralling portrait of loss, stubbornness and what comes after. Props to the deft sound design of this movie.

Palm Springs - If you’re like anyone else in the world right now you probably need a pick me up. Watch this This time loop, comedy, love story if you want to laugh and smile. If you’ve got someone to share it with all the better.  I would love to see this movie again at a drive in with someone special.

His House - This haunted house horror movie about two Sudanese refugees hits on several levels and bursts at the seems with tension. I quickly recognized Wunmii Mosaku from Lovecraft Country, but this is the first time I’d seen Sope Dirisu. Both put on great performances that pull at the heart in both fear and sadness. Great overwhelming dread throughout!

MUSIC

Operators - Some friends recommended this other other band from Wolf Parade frontman Daniel Boeckner.  It’s full of 90’s synth nostalgia references while pushing their sound into something modern and intriguing. A good listen on a road trip with your 90’s high school friends or to bop along to while housecleaning.

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin’s Hanukkah Sessions - Note: I was supposed to write this in December so this is a bit outdated, but this is still a fun thing to listen to so shut up and listen). These fun covers dropping daily throughout the 8 days of Hanukkah stretch from The Beastie Boys to Drake to Peaches to Mountain’s Mississippi Queen and more. Just good grungy fun, my favorite of the bunch is Elastica’s Connected.

Y La Bamba - Entre Los Dos (Between the Two) - I stumbled across this band on Spotify through their track Ojos Del Sol. Their sound immediately grabbed me in a warm caress and lovingly held me as ones cultural mother might hold a long lost child. This is folk music, Mexican music and in some way spiritual music. It will firmly be part of the soundtrack to the journey of me discovering more about my culture and my own self.

COMICS/BOOKS

The Glass Hotel -  I finished Emily St. John’s most recent book far too quick. A plot device that finds characters orbiting around a key event only to come crashing into each other is her signature move at this point. And while things are slightly different this time around, it’s all told with such mesmerizing prose that I can’t help but long for her next book. The characters are at once real and fantastical, they’re not quite someone you know, but are more of a friend of a friend. Complicated and simple and sad and selfish and hard to figure out, in other words, like actual people.

Miles Morales Spider-Man- Book 3 - More good stuff writer Saladin Ahmed and a bevy of top notch artists, including Javier Garron, Ze Carlos and Belén Ortega. This story moves at a breezy clip and Ahmed excels at building relationships between characters, but the action seems to move along too quickly.  There’s no highs and lows in the fights scenes, an enemy shows up, a few punches are thrown, Miles quickly gets the best of the enemy. I just want to see a bit more tension in some of these scenes. Otherwise this is a fun read that add some nice bits to the Miles Morales character.

GAMES

Hades - This is a fantastic Metroidvania style game that instantly had me staying up way past my bedtime. While some may not like the repetitive gameplay I wasn’t bothered by it. I was also completely hooked by the storyline and the great dialogue. Also, the art and music is top notch!

RANDOM NOTES

I’m going to try and get one of this out every month. Wish me luck.

Gather ‘round ye mongrels of media as we attempt to satisfy our primal urge to consume!

TV

I started watching Steven Universe and these tasty 10 -12 minute episodes are like candy for my soul. Fun and light and happy.

Warrior Nun - Three episodes in and it’s a bit slow paced and I’m not a fan at all of the narration, but the action is very well done and it seems to be getting better.  I do love how seriously they’re taking a seriously ridiculous concept.

Game of Thrones is on rewatch. Not sure if I’m doing this to try to gain a new respect for some of the show’s lowest moments or just to relive the dragon fights and bastard fights and girl fights and wight fights and Tormund making goofy lusty eyes at Brienne. Also, can we get a GOT X-Files type of spin off with these two please? The first episode can be them figuring out whatever happened to Daario Naharis.

MOVIES

Take Shelter - This is an oldie that I was recently reminded about. Directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain Take Shelter is a lazy snake that you’re not quite sure if it’s poisonous or not. Nothing in this film happens fast and everything feels cramped. Whenever Shannon’s Curtis LaForche is on screen he feels ill fit to the world around him. Like he’s wearing clothes that are too big for him and indeed in some scenes he looks that way as well. Chastain as Samantha, displays a weary tension throughout, but has a steady mid-western constitution that allows her to maintain her sanity when things get weird. Watch it, but not if you’re the least bit sleepy.

Life of Pi - In one of my bouts of insomnia I decided to rewatch this. It was as good as I remember and I even teared up. After it was over I found my blessed pillow and drifted of to a dreamland filled with tigers and boats and monkeys.

MUSIC

Crushing - Julie Jacklin (2019)- If you believe a song can have a hauntingly danceable groove look for me at the edge of the dance floor hoping Julia Jacklin will pick me. Body, the opening song to her album Crushing is like walking the hallways of your high school at 2am in the morning. Everything is stuffed with an adult melancholy that the kids only mime in broken hearted text messages. The soft plodding bass and spare drums plucked at my emo heart strings so deftly that my first listen turned into a second third and a then a fourth when I watched the video. Now I’m off to listen to the rest of the album.

Oh My God - Kevin Morby (2019)- Oh my god indeed. I recently stumbled across Kevin Morby and I’m so glad I did. There’s a yearning religiousness that runs through this album, but don’t let that burden you. The music here is haunting, beautiful and vividly illustrative of those parts of America that feel sleepy, dark and a few years behind.

To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar (2015) - When this album dropped I remember being slightly disappointed as I was expecting something more in the realm of good kid, m.A.A.d city. After several listens I realized it is very much in the same realm. It’s just that the realm is Kendrick Lamar’s and he roams large. I’ve returned to this album lately as a salve for what’s happening now. It’s a salve and also a guiding light. How can it not be with songs like, Alright and the self realization of Momma and I?

The simple fact is Kendrick is a storyteller from a different time, the future perhaps, or maybe the past. Alternate dimensions are not out of the question. In a time where we are careening wildly from fear to hopelessness to hate to the unknown, Kendrick’s lyrics are the guideposts leading us home.

Tobe Nwigwe - I mentioned him in a WIC recently and was pleasantly surprised when a friend posted a video of him on a track with a guest verse by Paul Wall. The track Juice is a banger through and through with my favorite verse being when Paul calls Tobe, “Too real. True and real. Trill.”

Love What Survives - Mount Kimbie (2017)- Sometimes an album digs deep into your ear like Dig Dig and you can’t shake it no matter what. This is a good good thing. I’d heard a couple of songs from this album (Blue Train Lines with King Krule and Marilyn with Michau), but never gave it a full listen. I finally did and it’s like a lazy drive with the windows down on a cool day that ends with a sweet makeout session at night in a parking lot. Soft, electronic music with a deep soulfulness.

COMICS/BOOKS

Silver Surfer - Parable - This old classic by Stan Lee and Moebius is an interesting ride. It moves at a brisk pace and some of the story feels a bit dated, but it’s always a joy to see work by Moebius.

I re-read Jupiter’s Legacy Part 2 recently and was just as immediately enthralled as I was in my first read. The art from Frank Quitley is as gorgeous as ever and while the story by Mark Millar rushes a bit too fast to the end it’s still a great read.

The History of the Marvel Universe - This plucks all my Marvel nerd boy heart chords. The art is beautiful and while the writing feels a bit cramped as it struggles to fit in all the bits and pieces it’s a must have for any Marvel fan. (Add artist and writer names)

GAMES- I’m still driving with Mario Kart. It’s just too good.

RANDOM NOTES

I have re-discovered candy from my childhood. Obleas Mini Wafers and Gloria’s Goats Milk! I used to get these when I was a kid when my mom went to Mexico and brought them back for me. The Obleas are like tiny tortillas, about the size of a silver dollar, with a caramel filing in the middle. The outside is this super thin wafer that always reminded me of the wafers you get when you take communion. You can eat these without having to admit your sins so that’s great!

The Glorias are like mini sausages, but have nothing to do with meat. They’re made from goats milk and often come with pecans. As a kid I used to eat these by the handful, but now I savor them and take a half a bite and then come back later for the other half. Andalé!

Another edition of What I’m Consuming for you to consume.

What I’ve Been Consuming 05/13/20

Look, we are not heroes for staying home and watching ungodly amounts of tv, but it’s the smart thing to do. So let’s all be smart while calcifying our brains with movies, tv, video games, comic books, Zoom meet ups, the FUCKING INTERNET that contains the entire collection of human creation and knowledge and our favorite snacks. I’m settling in with Flaming Hot Cheeto’s popcorn, Pork Rinds and the occasional edible with my favorite cocktail. I wash all this down with my nightly dose of Simvastatin, my cholesterol medication. 

Also, let’s get out and walk around since it’s beautiful weather right now. This is especially important for those of us in the Midwest who were blessed with snow just last week!

TV

Recently finished the Amazon series Hunters. It was good, but looking at it as a whole it seemed  to be holding something back. The characters felt like they were supposed to be larger than life and more bombastic, but they were instead subdued. Even Al Pacino is reserved. Was it a comic book adaptation or an inspired-by-actual-events type show? it was a compelling story somewhat overshadowed by not being sure what kind of show it wanted to be.

Midnight Gospel! Oh my god where to begin? This is simply great tv. The rhythm of the show sets in super fast and all you can do is hold on for the duration. I’m nearly done with the season and it’s deconstruction of philosophy and life and death are pretty timely, but never preachy. Just sit down and enjoy. Best served with a side of your favorite marijuana infused edible.

The new limited series RUNfrom HBO quickly got me hooked. It’s premised on two old lovers who have a pact to meet again if one texts “RUN” to the other. After 15 years one texts the other and our story begins! It was no struggle for me to dive into this show since I’m already well along in my Merrit Weaver addiction. She has been a spoonful of sugar with a side of cake in shows such as Godless and Unbelievable. I’m making room on my calendar now to watch her in Nurse Jackie and I’m super embarrassed to admit that I had no idea she was Denise in the Walking Dead. Ok, enough about Ms. Weaver, Domnhall Gleason is in this show too. 

I’m rewatching Watchmen because it was one of the best shows of 2019. It is great to see Damon Lindelof stick the landing like Simone Biles on this one. It was completely engrossing in every way.

For a much needed salve of humor in these times Middleditch and Schwartz is absolutely sting free healing. It’s a short three episodes and all three episodes are solid, but one and two are the best.

Killing Eve is back and I couldn’t be happier! So so happy to have all of these characters in my life. So so sad at what happens to them.

Quick Bites - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is still living its best life. Real Time with Bill Maher not so much. Still keeping up with Homeland, but season 5 is not the best. The Westworld  season finale wrapped up a wobbly season with a solid if forgettable final episode. I miss the heady hard to understand first two seasons. Props for some good action sequences this season though.

I need to get back too… I started Lock and Key a while back and lost it somewhere in the ether. Also, an FB convo reminded me to get back to Doom Patrol. I never finished Counterpart either. (Looking back at my post from last moth I see that I also mentioned getting back to Counterpartthen too, so it’s probably safe to say I won’t be getting back to it.) Not sure if these shows were good or bad or just not coming at me the right way. Oh, oh! Devs I do want to finish that, but yes I do agree with others comments that the main character’s acting is… not the best.

MOVIES 

The Apostle - Starring Dan Stevens from Legion,The GuestandDownton Abbey this movie starts out a bit slow, but winds itself up to a flat out bonkers ending. Worth watching with the lights off and no bathroom breaks.

I started the great Korean action flick The Villainess, but I fell asleep before finishing it. Can someone call a movie great if they fall asleep during it? If that someone was absolutely thrilled by watching the opening sequence then yes, yes they can.

GAMES

Still finding myself indulging in the occasional Mario Kart binge. Also got some friends together for Bomberman which is frivolous fun. Spent a few hours back with Mario Odyssey too. Purchased Child of Light a few days ago so I’m hoping to get to that soon.

BOOKS/COMICS

Not much in the way of books month. In the comics world I did start JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, but was thrown off by the revelation that the book I’m reading, which is marked book 1, is actually part two in the story. Shrug emoji.

I did finish the first trade in the Outcastseries from writer Robert Kirkman, now superrich and superfamous creator of The Walking Dead  and not so famous, but no less talented, artist Paul Azaceta. It is filled with great dread and atmosphere. It does not wrap up the story in the first trade which always irks me.

MUSIC

I was excited to see that Fiona Apple’s new album “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” came out! Then I listened to it. And listened to it again, and then listened to it one more time. It is an uneven album that frustrated me with how many songs are filled with the same refrain. I love the music, the writing not so much. That being said Under the Table, Rack of His andFor Her are repeat listens for me.

Drakedropped a new album/mixtape called ”Dark Lane. Demo Tapes” and so continues my love/annoyance with Drake’s music. Listening to  Drake’s music is like being in a 60+ year marriage and still being very much in love, but absolutely hating how your partner chews with their mouth open.

RANDOM NOTES

I discovered Coco Rico soda in a local Asian Market. It’s a lovely sweet coconut beverage.

As mentioned earlier Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Popcorn is becoming my new go to snack. Move over Doritos Cool Ranch because Chester Cheetah is here!

I was in a good running routine and then it started snowing and raining all the time. Back to the couch for me.

That about sums it up for this month. Don’t be afraid to skip your next work Zoom meeting. The work will be there tomorrow.