2023 can go f*** itself

The blog title expresses my sentiments regarding 2023 well enough.

This year has been a shitshow.

I was one of the waves of tech layoffs early in 2023. Finding new work has been... challenging... amid the ocean of other people in the same situation.

I sustained several injuries from hobbies. None serious, but all-together, they've been problematic.

Several friends died over the course of the year. Each one was a shock.

And the capper was when my father passed away.

Gotta say I'm still struggling with that one. There's a 'Dad-sized' hole in my life that I can't quite figure out how to process.

In the interests of fairness, it hasn't all been bad. The layoff meant I could spend time with my father before his passing, and that worked out remarkably well. I've also been able to help out family in the midst of all this, which has also been nice.

And I can't recall the last time I've managed to get so much sleep!

The year's been a constant source of anxiety, from the personal to just watching the news and seeing the wars and the violent rhetoric and the rise of - let's be honest here - nazi-like sentiments in my homeland.

Fucking shitshow all around.

I will not look back on 2023 with any fondness. If 2023 were a person, I'd be tap dancing on its face until it stopped being fun. And I think I'd get a lot of fun out of that.

I certainly hope 2024 is better (though the jury duty summons I got suggests that won't be the case... that's almost funny, really).

So, as I raise a glass... fuck you, 2023. Fuck you and good riddence.

Ah, that felt good.

For anyone reading, I hope the coming year brings you good fortune, good health, and all the good things.

In the spirit of the season

Attention shoppers

There's three months left until Xmas. That time's gonna blaze by fast...

What We Do in the Shadows - Season 5 reaction

I just finished "Exit Interview", the final episode of season 5 of "What We Do in the Shadows".

Damn!

I have to admit, I thought season 4 was weak tea. I dared to wonder if the show was getting into a rut.

Then this season happened.

Potential spoiler if you haven't seen season 4:



















At the end of season 4, Guillermo asked his vampire friend Derek to turn him into a vampire. Season 5 deals with the fallout of that while adding "The Guide" as a regular to the cast.

It's been utter genius. Brilliant, demented, and unpredictable genius. I have to say, I didn't see most of it coming when season 5 hit its finale.

I was a fool to doubt the writers. This show maintains its place as the best out there.

Zha'Ha'Boom (Babylon-5 the Road Home)

Just saw the latest offering from J. Michael Straczynski in the Babylon-5 universe: "Babylon-5: The Road Home".

An animated movie set before the various spin-offs but before the actual ultimate episode, "The Road Home" is a treat for fans of B-5. It's got hilarious dialog, great action (lots of BOOM), and offers greater insight into how the Babylon-5 story is told.

It's whet my appetite for the upcoming CW remake of the series, which I'd fear if anyone other than JMS were behind it.

If you're a fan of Babylon-5, this is a must-see. Just don't say lost in spa[censored due to copyright].

Review: "The Malevolent Seven" by Sebastian de Castell

So what kind of story do you have when your protagonist is an unabashed mercenary who makes deals with devils for spells to crush his foes?

More accurately, what kind of story do you have when that one is the good guy?

That's the latest offering from Sebastian de Castell, the author of the Greatcoats series. I enjoyed the Greatcoats series overall. Oh, there were parts of it that didn't set well with me, but overall it was an okay read. I found De Castell's "Tales of the Greatcoats" collection of short stories to be more enjoyable, mostly because the reader is spared the multiple chapters of narrative self-loathing and authorial sadism that is such a common thing in so many stories that are out these days.

"The Malevolent Seven" is set in an entirely different world. A world of magic, of angels, of demons, and of battle mages. Cade Ombra is one such mage and he's got a very complicated background for a simple mercenary mage. A series of events has Cade and his (sort of) friend Corrigan take on a job to kill seven virtuous mages for cash. If only the job were that simple. If only all the cast were that simple as well.

"The Malevolent Seven" is a delightful story. It's got a fun pace. Oh sure, the protagonist, Cade, is a tormented whiner who is really a hero among rogues in a shitty world (not unlike his setting for the Greatcoats) but it was a quick and fun read. De Castell doesn't shy away from moral questions any more than he shies away from having his characters wade through literal shit from time to time.

A part of me hopes there will be a sequel. The other part of me hopes he leaves the story where it is, set with a curiously-optimistic ending. I think I'll be fine either way, truth be told.

Review: "The Traitor" by Anthony Ryan

The latest in Anthony Ryan's series known as "The Covenant of Steel", the third novel entitled "The Traitor" follows "The Pariah" and "The Martyr" in the testament of Alywn Scribe, a former outlaw turned knight and lover of the Risen Martyr Evandine Coulain.

As one might tell from the title, the story is about as cheery and loving as the previous two books, as Ryan continues to abuse his protagonists viciously amid scenes of carnage and torture.

For all that, the story is an enjoyable enough romp with a lot more closure and coherence in it than the "Raven's Shadow" series. There are parallels in numerous characters between the two series, but I find enough differences that I don't give "Raven's Shadow" too much thought as I've made my way through "The Covenant of Steel".

Alywn Scribe's journey continued to keep my attention throughout "The Traitor", though there were few surprises. I found a few plot points introduces in "The Martyr" were left unresolved as "The Traitor" concluded, but Ryan hints there may be another series along one day.

Oddly, the one thing I found that really stood out in "The Covenant of Steel" was how Ryan handles the otherworldly powers. In his other series, magic is usually tied to vaguely godlike entities that are callous and indifferent, if not outright malign. In "The Covenant of Steel", there is, at least, some acknowledgement that there's benign powers out there, albeit ruthless ones.

The series was a fun read. I look forward to more from Anthony Ryan.

2023

About six months in, I very much dislike 2023.

That is all.

Skull Island

So I just finished binging the "Skull Island" animated offering on Netflix.

I really enjoyed Kong: Skull Island. I think it was the strongest of the "MonsterVerse" films that have come out, with Godzilla, Kong, etc. It was really the only film that had human protagonists I have half a crap about, which is kinda impressive. Those sorts of films really don't do "appealing human characters" very well, but Sam Jackson, Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, John C. Reilly, and the rest really had appealing characters set in an atypical monster setting.

"Skull Island" builds on the mythos of the monster-infested Skull Island a bit, albeit in an animated format. I was impressed by how that was handled. The story really wasn't centered around Kong, too much. Kong was an incidental agency in the story, that was mainly centered around a gaggle of shipwreck victims and a feral teenage girl who has bonded with local monsters. All-told, it didn't suck nearly as much as I expected it would. The story could've made the cast a bit more appealing, and they could've shaved a good 80% of the quips and jokes off without too much trouble. Still, it wasn't horrible. I'm intrigued enough that I'd watch a sequel if they do one. Hopefully they dial back the excessive quipping a lot next time around.

John Wick 4

I finally saw it. The conclusion of the John Wick films.

I really love these films. All a first-person shooter videogame done up Hollywood style with nice suits, fancy clubs, and style to go with the way over-the-top dollops of ultraviolence.

That's really all that needs to be said about the fourth film, really. It's almost three hours of carnage and insanity mixed in with posturing and "yeah".

Adding in Donnie Yen was a nice touch.

I'll miss this franchise. It won't be the same without Keanu's John Wick in whatever they do in subsequent films.

Thoughts on "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"

So I finally got around to watching Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves the other day.

I'm upset it took me this long to see this film. This is one of the most enjoyable fantasy romps I've watched in ages!

Set in the D&D fantasy world of "Faeun" (sp?), the film centers around the bard Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), his barbarian friend Holga Kilgore (best name ever, played by Michelle Rodriguez). Imprisoned after attempting to steal a magic artifact from Edgin's previous employers, the heroic Harpers, the pair escape prison and recruit the dubious sorcerer Simon Aumar (Justice Smith) and shapeshifting druid and Tiefling Doric (Sophia Lillis) to rescue Edgin's daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) from their treacherous former teammate, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant). And there's of course many shenanigans in the way.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is thematically a lot like the Guardians of the Galaxy films. A rag-tag team of quirky misfits unite to stop a terrible evil in the form of the sorceress Sofina (Daisy Head). Along the way, the group befriends the paladin Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page) and jump through hoops to become a quasi-family.

It's a formula and a predictable one, but it's perfectly executed in this film. The casting was rock solid, with every actor really making her or his character distinctive and entertaining. I'm hard-pressed to come up with a favorite, truth-be-told. I'm kind of torn between the humorless and earnest Xenk Yendar and the badass but blunt-spoken Holga Kilgore, though I really loved all the characters. Edgin could have easily been annoying, but Pine's portrayal really walked a good line to keep the character's flaws entertaining but not excessive.

I really hope they make sequels! Good sequels!

It's May, it's May, the merry month of May

No idea why "Camelot" popped into my head, but there it is. The month's more than half-over and the song's been lurking in my brain on-and-off for about a week now. It's a relief to get it out of my system. You're welcome.

Thoughts as April winds down

It's going to be May tomorrow. Time truly flies.

2023 so far has been four months of allergies with a job layoff added, just for shits and giggles.

I've found a few distractions as I hunt for new employment by watching a few shows in streaming, but honestly most of the stuff I've watched has been kinda crappy. Even season three of "The Mandalorian" was kind of disappointing. Oh, it was tons better than "The Book of Boba Fett", but once you've included space-vespas in a show, everything is going to look better.

I'm thinking I'm going to ditch Disney+ anyway. Everything Disney seems to touch is kinda shitty and I'm a bit tired of it.

I've discovered a new author I like, which has been a little ray of sunshine in this shitshow of a year. Ryan Cahill, who authors a fantasy series known as "The Bound and the Broken", is quite delightful. I'm on book three of his series so far (not counting novellas) and am very much enjoying his stuff.

Too bad I'll be done soon and out of good authors to read.

On the plus side, I've taken advantage of my unexpected free time to sort out a few things (like my previously-mentioned trip to the hazardous waste disposal dump). It feels weird not to be working. Unnatural, somehow. Though I do have to say, it's nice to be able to sleep in everyday.

Adventures in Hazardous Waste Disposal

I have no idea how long I was holding on to those propane canisters.

Since before the pandemic, certainly.

I haven't used them for my BBQ in years. My landlord came down hard on all residents who had BBQs on their balconies, so I moved mine into the common area. During the pandemic and the height of the fire season, some twat got on the property and decided to use my BBQ to cook up a steak during a red flag day. After I got his ass arrested, I got rid of the BBQ. I had the propane canisters stored away until I could figure out what to do with them.

In a bought of housecleaning, I recently assembled a pile of things I need to get rid of that need special treatment. Used batteries, fluorescent bulbs, an old and dead generator, an old microwave, a very old computer monitor, and, of course, those propane canisters.

So I investigated my county's options for hazardous waste disposal. There are several options, but none exactly close and convenient to where I live. So I made an appointment and set aside some time to deal with this.

So here I am, my car's trunk filled with flammable crap, driving in heavier-than-I'd-like traffic to a shitty part of a local city, following very dubious directions, to get rid of this shit.

I swear I thought that truck was going to rearend me and blow me up. The potholes in the fucking roads were like bomb craters. I got lost twice finding the goddamn place.

I've never felt so relieved to have all that shit taken out of my car's trunk. I'm pretty sure I'll need an alignment done on my car after driving those shitty roads, but it was worth it just to have that crap off my hands.

Next time, I go to a different drop-off, though.

Wow, March is almost over already?

I can't believe we're reaching the end of March already!

2023 has been a bit of a shitshow, all told. It's certainly had the side effect of having time blaze on by.

Let's see... what's going on? I'm enjoying season three of "The Mandalorian". I tried watching "Andor", but I really couldn't get into it. I'm also making my way through "Lucifer". It's enjoyable, though a bit predictable. I tried to watch "The Witcher: Blood Origin" and I might still get through it, but it's really terrible. It's not Sapkowski's work, but more like someone at Netflix wanted to do a show about their D&D campaign and had to call it a "Witcher" spin-off so as not to get into a licensing tiff with Wizards of the Coast.

Hilarious, really.

I read somewhere that the "Willow" series got canceled. Can't say that shocks me at all

Okay, yeah. All I'm doing is wingeing on about streaming shows. I could get huffy about real life - and there's lots to get huffy about - but honestly, why bother? The real world is just a hot fucking mess and that's not changing anytime soon. Easier to get snarky about trivial bullshit like entertainment shows.

... the hell did I just watch?

So I just finished the "Willow" series on Disney Plus.

I am unsure what the hell I've been watching for the last month or so.

Was this a comedy? A young adult romance thing? Was it intended to be a proper fantasy? Was it a bad music video? What the hell was this?

The series purports to be a sequel to the 1988 film. Sure, it has some of the cast but... uh... I'm really not sure anyone took time to figure out if there was supposed to be a connection. I mean sure, there's wizard guy in there, in the background, named Willow. He does magic, except when he doesn't. There's references to the movie. Kinda. In a poorly-written sort of way.

The Willow series is half-assed fan fiction of the movie as though written by some college students who did mushrooms while playing D&D and making out while high.

There's some cool villains built up in it. Fuck if I know what actually happens to most of them. I honestly think the main villains are whomever does the direction of the episodes. Good lord I've never seen such choppy scenes outside of some halfassed college productions. Disney, what the fuckity fuck were you thinking by putting this on your streaming site? And the writing... the scriptwriting is pretty much a crime against screenplays everywhere.

The series did actually a good job with the casting and the actors. I want to hate them. I really do. The writing makes the characters so unlikeable that I was hoping for an apocalyptic ending for the series, but the actors are really kinda good despite the shitacular writing and horrific direction.

There might be a sequel to this. I really sorta hope not, but if Disney dumps money into a season two for this show, I hope they immediately shitcan the directors, the writers, and whomever is in charge of the soundtrack.

Like shoot them. Not with bullets, but maybe a powerful stream of water? Piss? Something that'll stain? I dunno.

First off, do away with the rock music. It takes you out of what the hell you're watching, which given how bad that was isn't entirely a bad thing, but it doesn't help. Stick to the instrumental music, guys. Then find some scriptwriters who can stick to an actual solid theme instead of jumping all over the goddamn place. And, finally, find directors who don't mangle scenes to offer such a weird screen sausage of unsatisfying crap.

Ah, that felt good to write! Okay, after making myself watch all those episodes, I need to kill braincells...

Hello 2023

It's 2023. We've a break in the rain. The sun is shining. The birds are singing (or whatever crows call the sound they make). It's chilly, but not unpleasantly so. Places that serve booze are open.

A promising start to the year.