Just like the title says, I’m a lazy bastard. Blogging, it turns out, is something I’m only good at in the abstract. See, I feel like I should have something interesting to say if I’m blogging and lately . . . well, not so much.
Okay, so we’ve seen a couple movies, so that’s something.
And I started writing a new book. I figure that’s something, too.
Movies first, then? We haven’t seen anything surprising, I’m afraid. Iron Man was uniformly excellent. If you actually cared, though, you’d have already seen it, and made up your mind for yourself.
The new Indiana Jones movie was uniformly not excellent. The most enthusiastic reviews you’ll find online or in print sound like nothing so much as rationalizations or apologies. People reach to emphasize the stuff that worked for them (like hearing Harrison Ford talk “as Indy” again, or the swell of John Williams’ score). Others — like me — just can’t get past the crap.
Here’s my one sentence review of Indy IV. Do with it as you will: “In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we’ve got the “Star Wars Prequel” effect in full force; bits and pieces are good, but overall it feels like the storytellers are talking down to us, explaining where no explanations are necessary, and making us feel, not the joy of youth, but the, “don’t talk down to me” feeling so many kids have.”
Also, I’m going to start using, “Nuked The Fridge” from here on in when describing entertainment which has moved, ahem, past its freshness date. Used to be, “Jumped the Shark,” but in my opinion, that phrase has, heh, nuked the fridge.
Other stuff? I’ve read a couple books, re-read a couple old favorites. I wish more Robert A. Heinlein was available for my Amazon Kindle. Suppose that’s just a matter of time.
Oh, and the book. Yeaaaah, that . . . okay. Beautiful Handcrafted Animals is right where we last visited it: resting. First draft is done, or all-but done, which is really the same thing. The next words I’ll type for that beast will be for the Second draft which, hey, let’s all keep our fingers crossed that’ll be the Final Draft, eh?
But.
But I had another idea. More to say, it’s an old, old idea which I’ve been tossing around for a long, long time. Out of the blue, all of a sudden, boom, I had an idea which I like very much pop into my head. So I’m playing with it. One of the nice things about being an unpublished novelist is you can sort of flit here and there at will. Nobody’s breathing down my neck to finish finish finish by a certain date. So if I want to monkey about, I’m free to.
What’s the story with the new book?
The title, and some folks are going to start getting the idea I have a thing for weird book titles, should be, “Lions Together Are Called A Pride.” I’ll be referring to it internally as, “Lions Together”, mostly because it’s less to type.
What’s it about? Hmm, another one that’s hard to sum up. Essentially, it’s the story of a woman who experiences something extraordinary. Possibly she’ll learn something about herself, even though I’m not really a big fan of self-discovery.
If that seems vague, it’s purposely so. To explain what the, “something extraordinary” is, or what she takes away from it would be to give the whole thing away. Suffice it to say, I think it’s an interesting idea and, more importantly, an interesting character to write about.
Her name is Nicola, “Nikki” Arlen. Not that it matters. But if you see me talking about Nikki, you should know who I’m talking about.
I’d tell you about the other characters in the book, but so far they’re all dead. You’d be amazed how hard it is to write for dead people . . .
Oh, and for a final move, as far as, “what’s up now?” the answer is . . . stuff. Writing. Reading. We’re moving to a new house towards the back half of the Summer months. Things are good, and feeling good.
I’m going to work on posting here more regularly. That seems to spur me to write more regularly, which is, of course, a good thing.
So, there you go.