13 Days Till Christmas

Finally found a moment to blog.

I've been busy!

Looking back, I see that I last posted back in November. Since then I have finished Under the Dome -- which was AWESOME!

PLUS, it has a cameo by a friend of mine, Reynolds Wolf, who was our morning weather guy back in the '90s, and now he's at CNN! So how weird is it to have and old friend pop up in a Stephen King novel?!! Cooler still was the fact that I appear to be the first person who knows him to have read the book, because I got to be the guy who told him! :D That was a neat feeling. His response was, naturally, "Really?"

Brian & I also drove to Louisiana to spend Thanksgiving with Mom, Gan-Gan and Mom's husband. (It seems weird calling him my step-dad because I'm 39 years old, lol. I think of him as Mom's Boy-Toy. Mom's Man-Thang. Is that wrong?)

I've also read MICHAEL CRICHTON'S LAST NOVEL, PIRATE LATITUDES!!! It's a PIRATE NOVEL!!! :D MICHAEL CRICHTON WROTE A PIRATE NOVEL!!! :D

It was awesome!

The visual authenticity of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is matched by the EVERYTHING authenticity of Pirate Latitudes. What I mean is, the way everything looks realistic and believable in the Pirates movies, everything in Crichton's novels feels that real. Anyone who has read his work knows Crichton is fascinated with historical and technical details, and is a master at entegrating them into a tight, fast-paced, exciting story. The historical detail in Pirate Latitudes is no exception. You feel as though you're cruising around in mid-1600s.

What else?

I'm working.

What I mean is that I'm filling in for a co-worker on vacation. This Sunday will be 1 of 2 days I get off for the rest of 2009. I'm off Sunday, then off again next Sunday, then the next time I'm off work is January 1, 2010.

But this isn't a bad thing!

First of all, who couldn't use overtime nowadays, right?

Secondly, overnight on the weekends is pleasantly uneventfuly usually. (Unless something blows up... which happens... but, thankfully, not often.) So I may get to catch up on my Hulu queue. I'm behind several episodes of Castle and Dollhouse and Ghost Hunters, and I added V to my queue and haven't even watched the first episode yet. So I'm hoping to empty my Hulu queue out by the tiome 2010 rolls around. (We're having computer issues at home, so I haven't been watching much Hulu at the house.)

Anything else?

I haven't heard much from my sweety, but she texts me whenever she can. The holidays always seem to be busy for her, and I imagine they are more so this year. (♥LOVE YOU, GNOMEY!!! xoxoxo ♥)

OH! The paranormal-thang is AWESOME! I lead my first investigation with Texas Spirits recently!!! :D And I think I did a competent job! It was freaky, because I'm directing people who are much more experienced than I am! And they're following my lead!!! :P It's wacky!

I'm not really into titles, so being "lead investigator" on a case doesn't really do anything for me (besides make me anxious, lol), but what I'm floored by is the fact that these cats that I love and respect seem to think of me as an equal. (I guess I've got them fool, huh?)

Also, I've been corresponding with a couple of people who have questions about possible paranormal activity, and it's really neat to be able to share my thoughts on the subject! You know? Like, to have someone ask me a question and be interested to hear what I think about a paranormal matter. VERY cool! :) I feel like a legitimate member of the paranormal community, lol!

I know, I'm a nerd, right?

OOH!

SHERLOCK HOLMES!!!

CHRISTMAS DAY!

I'm working Christmas, but I am making it my mission to see the new Sherlock Holmes flick ON CHRISTMAS DAY!

DUDE!!!

Holmes is one of my FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE characters of all time! I love the original Conan Doyles stories, I love the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce movies, I love the Rathbone/Bruce radio show, and I love the Jeremy Brett series (1984-1994 by Granada Television)!

Now, it seems wierd to me to have a Yank playing Holmes -- like having an American play Bond (or, for that matter, like Angelina Jolie playing Lara Croft) -- but if you've got to cast an American as Holmes, Robert Downey, Jr. is DEFINITELY a good candidate!

Plus, this new flicks looks like it's going to explore some "new" aspects of the Holmesean mythos.

Like, for instance, the action angle!

In the short stories, the action always takes place "off screen", as dialogue. "Oh yes," said Holmes, "I had to rough up eighteen hooligans before being thrown off a train crossing a hundred-thousand foot bridge, and then I was forced to duel Jack the Ripper with sabers before vanquishing a sasquatch with a straight razor, but finally I was free to look at the footprints inbedded in the clay surrounding the murder site and I noticed..."

Apparently, Conan Doyle simply wasn't interested in the action as much as the deduction, so he never wrote those parts, merely had his characters refer to them.

Then, I believe, Holmes went to the stage. Well, the theatre doesn't really lend itself to action set pieces so, again, the action elements of a Holmes story was de-emphesized or removed.

Then, if I'm not mistaken, Holmes moved to the radio... Again, not really an action-friendly medium.

Then Holmes moved to the big screen... BUT...

By now, everyone is used to a sort of non-action style Holmes. Plus, it's more expensive to shoot action scenes than it is to shoot talking scenes. And I'll bet part of the appeal of Holmes for the studio was the fact that they could simply film a stage play (logistically speaking) and still rake in Big Budget box office. (I don't know how much the Holmes films made when they we in cinemas, but they made 14 of them, so I'm guessing they made plenty.)

So, basically, generations have grown up with an inactive Holmes.

Jeremy Brett energized the personality of Holmes with his performance, but that was still a TV show, so action still remained largely off-screen.

So I'm excited to see an Action-Hero version of Holmes! I think it'll be fun. Plus, there have been flicks in the last 15 years or so that have played-up some of Holmes' more eccentric personality traits, but usually in a more somber way. It looks like Downey, Jr.'s interpretation of Holmes is, like Brett's, that sort of manic energy, dropped into a Guy Ritchie scope! :D

FUN!!!

PLUS... WATSON!!!

I blame Nigel Bruce for being so loveable as Watson and for being so talented as a comedian, but Watson WAS NEVER a bumbler! EVER! In the Conan Doyle stories, Watson is a doctor and a war vet! He may not be as smart as Holmes, but NOBODY is as smart as Holmes. (There is Moriority and Mycroft, but that's it. Holmes is in a league of his own, and that's the point of the character.) Watson was smart enough to continue to get calls from Scottland Yard to help them on cases after Holmes (apparently) died! That fact really doesn't jibe with Nigel Bruce's intepretation of Watson.

Still, the long-standing popularity of the Rathbone/Bruce team in 14 films and 7 years on the radio has created this sort of inescapable image of Dr. Watson being an affable bumbler.

The Granada TV series(s) did a whole lot to repair that image, though. There are now generations of folks who know that Watson is competent.

But THIS Watson...! Jude Law, dude!!! :D THIS is gonna be an AWESOME Watson!!! In fact, the trailers and commercials I've seen so far sort of make Holmes look like the oddball! Like, Watson is this cool, competent guy, and Holmes is the freak... which... is really the way the relationship would have worked out, if you think about it. I mean, yeah, Holmes was famous and all, but he was a geek. Watson was really the one you would rather have a conversation with. Like Monk and Sharona/Natalie: You talk to Sharona/Natalie, and let her deal with the crazy genius freak-guy.

Blah.

So anyway, I'm stoked! I SO can't wait to see this flick!

Merry Christmas to me! :D

Okay, I'm goign to go do work now. There's not a ton to do, but it would be wisest for me to go ahead and do it before I slack any further.

Enjoy your weekends and the season! :D It's the greatest time of the year!!!