(no subject)
Wow. Well, we all see just how well *this* little experiment has gone. Sigh. I'm quite terrible at this updating regularly "ting." Sorry. Here are the days I've missed:
Day 03 - Your favorite television program: Again, I have a list. It is a slightly shorter list. There's lots of television that I *like,* but not a lot that I find truly brilliant.
Batman: the Animated Series - Perhaps the greatest cartoon ever made. (yes, the Simpsons is great, too, but it's more... a show that happens to be animated, than a show that really challenges and redefines animation.) There were great voice actors (Mark Hamill's Joker is definitive!) and great writers (Paul Dini, how I love thee!) plus the introduction of the first character in the Batman universe to originate in a medium other than the comic and then make the switch to mainstream canon: Harley Quinn. If Kevin Smith hadn't already done it, I'd probably name my next daughter after her...
Lost - Hands down, the best scripted show that ever aired. Some people tout the genius of J.J. Abrams, others rave over Cuse & Lindeloff as producers... but at the end of the day, it's the writers that made this show. Poaching some of the greatest names in comic books (the above-mentioned Dini, Brian K. Vaughan) certainly didn't hurt their cause. Creating such a compelling and cohesive narrative with so many different writers should have been impossible, but they pulled it off. Also, Sayid & Jin are hot.
The Guild - Web shows should count, because I watch ALL my television online (or on DVD, on my computer) so there. Felicia Day is, of course, charming and talented. The rest of the cast is hilarious. The plots are elegant and agonizing. For such a short-form program, enormous attention is paid to detail. All-in-all, it's utterly lovely, and IMO represents the future of the art of "television."
Day 04 - Your favorite book: Actually, this is one of the easy ones... no, wait, I lied. For sake of argument, I'm going to stick with long-form, traditional adult novels. That is, I will exclude: graphic novels, children's books, picture books, other art books, non-fiction, and short story collections. Otherwise, I'd be at this all night...
Crime and Punishment, by Dostoyevsky - I once really freaked out a counselor at my high school by saying that the character in literature with whom I could best identify was Raskalnikov... but even without the evil pleasure I take in that moment, this would still be one of my favorite books. I wish I could read Russian, so I could know if Dostoyevsky is truly as elegant and poetic a writer as he seems in translation. I certainly know that the skills of a top-notch translator are woefully underrated. Still, it's the spellbinding way he crafts a scene, and the agonizing philosophical dilemmas that are truly amazing.
The Plague, by Camus - Again, a book that truly spoke to me at just the right time. As with C&P, it deals with issues of individual (in contrast to group) morality. That theme has always been of great interest to me. Interestingly, the wikipedia article on this book compares it to Kafka's The Trial, which I mentioned was filmed by Orson Welles, becoming one of my favorite movies. I didn't notice the connection consciously, but yeah.
Cat's Cradle, by Vonnegut - This is my all-purpose go-to novel. I could read it a million times. Again, there are some themes here of developing morality. Interesting. Echoes of Vonnegut can be seen some of my favorite contemporary science fiction writers (Cory Doctorow, for example.)
The Scar, by Mieville - Perhaps an interesting, newer addition to my list. I am sleepy and want to finish this so I won't expound... except to say that no one, absolutely No One, can craft a monster or develop a world like China Mieville can.
I was going to do all the days I missed tonight, but... no. I'll get to days 5, 6, & 7 (and perhaps 8!) tomorrow. 'Night, kiddos.
Day 03 - Your favorite television program: Again, I have a list. It is a slightly shorter list. There's lots of television that I *like,* but not a lot that I find truly brilliant.
Batman: the Animated Series - Perhaps the greatest cartoon ever made. (yes, the Simpsons is great, too, but it's more... a show that happens to be animated, than a show that really challenges and redefines animation.) There were great voice actors (Mark Hamill's Joker is definitive!) and great writers (Paul Dini, how I love thee!) plus the introduction of the first character in the Batman universe to originate in a medium other than the comic and then make the switch to mainstream canon: Harley Quinn. If Kevin Smith hadn't already done it, I'd probably name my next daughter after her...
Lost - Hands down, the best scripted show that ever aired. Some people tout the genius of J.J. Abrams, others rave over Cuse & Lindeloff as producers... but at the end of the day, it's the writers that made this show. Poaching some of the greatest names in comic books (the above-mentioned Dini, Brian K. Vaughan) certainly didn't hurt their cause. Creating such a compelling and cohesive narrative with so many different writers should have been impossible, but they pulled it off. Also, Sayid & Jin are hot.
The Guild - Web shows should count, because I watch ALL my television online (or on DVD, on my computer) so there. Felicia Day is, of course, charming and talented. The rest of the cast is hilarious. The plots are elegant and agonizing. For such a short-form program, enormous attention is paid to detail. All-in-all, it's utterly lovely, and IMO represents the future of the art of "television."
Day 04 - Your favorite book: Actually, this is one of the easy ones... no, wait, I lied. For sake of argument, I'm going to stick with long-form, traditional adult novels. That is, I will exclude: graphic novels, children's books, picture books, other art books, non-fiction, and short story collections. Otherwise, I'd be at this all night...
Crime and Punishment, by Dostoyevsky - I once really freaked out a counselor at my high school by saying that the character in literature with whom I could best identify was Raskalnikov... but even without the evil pleasure I take in that moment, this would still be one of my favorite books. I wish I could read Russian, so I could know if Dostoyevsky is truly as elegant and poetic a writer as he seems in translation. I certainly know that the skills of a top-notch translator are woefully underrated. Still, it's the spellbinding way he crafts a scene, and the agonizing philosophical dilemmas that are truly amazing.
The Plague, by Camus - Again, a book that truly spoke to me at just the right time. As with C&P, it deals with issues of individual (in contrast to group) morality. That theme has always been of great interest to me. Interestingly, the wikipedia article on this book compares it to Kafka's The Trial, which I mentioned was filmed by Orson Welles, becoming one of my favorite movies. I didn't notice the connection consciously, but yeah.
Cat's Cradle, by Vonnegut - This is my all-purpose go-to novel. I could read it a million times. Again, there are some themes here of developing morality. Interesting. Echoes of Vonnegut can be seen some of my favorite contemporary science fiction writers (Cory Doctorow, for example.)
The Scar, by Mieville - Perhaps an interesting, newer addition to my list. I am sleepy and want to finish this so I won't expound... except to say that no one, absolutely No One, can craft a monster or develop a world like China Mieville can.
I was going to do all the days I missed tonight, but... no. I'll get to days 5, 6, & 7 (and perhaps 8!) tomorrow. 'Night, kiddos.