It’s tough being stuck at home for this long. Eventually, you lose even the minimal mental focus to enjoy tv shows or a movie, let alone a book. Sometimes you need a little motivation to get moving, maybe to do some chores or to cook dinner. This is one of my favorite playlists to get my self moving without ramping up my adrenaline. You can listen to it on Spotify here. Enjoy “St. Thomas”- Sonny Rollins “Blue Skies”- Art Tatum “Cool Strutting’”- Sonny Clark “Milestones”- Miles Davis “The Sidewinder”- Lee Morgan “Comin’ Home Baby”- Herbie Mann “Better Git it…
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A Summoner’s Journal- G. R. Linden (Part Three)
Day 35 The party has experienced a schism. It has been brewing for some time. Apparently, there is a limit to the number of insults you can make about Wolverine’s intelligence (or lack thereof) before he tries to murder you and Doom found it. Of course, the constant barrage of Tim Horton’s jokes certainly didn’t help. Wolverine’s blind rage was terrifying. But more terrifying was the ease with which Doom dispatched him. When he came to, he flipped us all a single adamantium claw and walked away; muttering about needing a beer. Day 38 We added two new…
The Eclectic Eccentric’s guide to binging through the Apocalypse- Film Noir
It’s a little overcast and gloomy this morning which put me in the mood to recommend some classic Film Noir. You’ll notice I’m sticking to the golden era of the genre. I know there are some great modern noir tales, but I felt like going old school. And believe me, even sixty, seventy years later these films still hold up. Double Indemnity- One of the all-time classics in this or any other genre. Barbara Stanwyck may not have invented the Femme Fatale, but she certainly perfected it. The plot is twisty, the romance steamy, and the characters compelling. Billy…
A Summoner’s Journal- G. R. Linden (Part Two)
Day 16 We have discovered a vast network of caves underneath a nearby mountain. It is full of discarded items that will help us on our quest. Wolverine says the place doesn’t smell right, but we are in no position to ignore such a bountiful trove of treasure. Tonight, we make camp at the mouth of the cave. Tomorrow we will enter. Hopefully, we get lucky and the cave is as empty as it looks. But if not, we will be ready. Day 17 We are not alone. Wolverine was right, there is something down here in these…
The Eclectic Eccentric’s guide to binging through the Apocalypse: Biographical Books.
So far, my binging guide has been throwing a lot of fiction at you all. So today I thought I’d recommend some non-fiction for those of you who prefer the real world to made-up ones. Here are ten interesting biographies to read while you are stuck sitting at home. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings- Maya Angelou’s 1969 autobiography is a breathtaking work of literature. And I know of no other work that comes close to replicating its amalgamation of truth and fiction. And I don’t mean that anything that is shared in this raw look at Ms. Angelou’s…
A Summoner’s Journal- G. R. Linden (Part One)
Day 1 I think I have lost my mind. Last night I went to bed, safe and comfortable in my home; and this morning I awoke in a strange world with two absurd looking men staring at me. They called themselves The Collector and Kang, respectively, and referred to me as “Summoner”. Telling me that I am in a place called the Battlerealm and that I must compete in something called The Contest. They warn that if I do not participate, I will never see home again. I’d like to believe that I have gone insane or that this…
Character Study- Ellen Ripley
In storytelling, it is often the case that someone does something so well and it is so original and successful, that for the rest of time other storytellers attempt to harness this idea for their own and come up short. But they keep trying and saturating the zeitgeist with these poor imitations until even the original loses its brilliance and becomes nothing but a cliché, a shorthand joke for those in the know. One such example is the “kick-ass female lead”. If you take a woman and make her good at shooting bad guys with guns that must make her…
The Eclectic Eccentric’s guide to binging through the Apocalypse: Science Fiction Television Series
For today’s recommendations list, I’m giving you some of the best Science Fiction shows ever to air on television. You’ll notice some notable absences (X-files, Fringe), I plan on making a whole other list about sci-fi procedurals. So cool your jets. Anyway here are the binging recs. Babylon 5: Hands down one of the greatest science-fiction shows ever written and decades ahead of its time. The whole series plays out like a five-act play and every plot thread, every detail is carefully nurtured. Yes, seasons one and five can be a bit rocky as a result of network interference and…
The Eclectic Eccentric’s guide to binging through the Apocalypse- Vertigo Comics
Vertigo Comics is an imprint of DC comics that was aimed at adult audiences and allowed creatives to use mature themes and more R-rated content that didn’t fit with DC’s superhero brand. It produced some fantastic series over the years before being discontinued this past January. Compared to your average superhero comic which never truly comes to an end, many of these series had true beginnings and endings which make them a very satisfying binge read when you’ve got the time. Which, right now, you do. Hellblazer: Vertigo’s flagship series served as a proving ground for some of the greatest…
The Eclectic Eccentric’s guide to binging through the Apocalypse- Romantic-Comedies
My previous two entries in this series have given you complicated mysteries and complex worlds to get lost in. Today, I thought we’d go in a more light-hearted direction with some of the silver screens great romantic comedies. Again, this is not a best-of list but more of a “great films you might have overlooked or haven’t gotten around to” list. And I want to apologize in advance for the lack of LGBTQIA representation on this list. I’ve only had about an hour to put this list together and most of the films that came to find either didn’t fit…