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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

I need amusement!

Snow is coming down. It will come down all day. Tomorrow there will be a lot more. I won't be able to leave the house between now and Thursday at the earliest (probably Friday). So I need amusement.

Tell me what books, TV, and film I should check out. It must be available on cable or via Amazon or Netlix. I can't watch Apple or Hulu stuff on my big-screen set up, and I hate watching on my desktop monitor. I don't have an iPad and the phone is too small.

For an idea of things I like see the, ah, List of Things I Like. (Must get around to turning that into a proper blog post one of these days.

Last night I watched Contagion: recommended by many people. But, damn, Soderbergh doesn't know the meaning of the word 'emotion'. Like Ocean's Eleven or even Sex, Lies and Videotape, it was a cool, keep-the-viewer-at-arms'-length piece of work. Not my cup of tea. At all.

I love escapism. Filmwise, the latest reboot of Star Trek is practically perfect. Galaxy Quest and Die Hard rock the Thunderdome. TV-wise, my favourites are things like Merlin, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, Trueblood, Buffy, Highlander, Firefly, etc. I loved the first season of Deadwood, but then it lost itself in its own mannerisms. I thought the first season of The Sopranos was a blast, but then it dissolved into nothingness. I thought Lost sucked after about four eps. Stuff like Breaking Bad is too grim. I just don't care about ordinary life, don't give a damn for realism.

In terms of novels (I'm not interested in non-fiction right now), I like well-written story. I don't much care for delicate examinations of the meaning of life. I don't object to it--I just don't want it to be the point. Angst, in fiction as in real life, pisses me off. I find it self-indulgent.

So: help! Save me from madness and eating the neighbours!