LOOKING AHEAD

I've been treading water the last couple days. My back is starting to feel better - I can stand up straight fairly quickly today and the pain is now mostly on one side of the lower back. I did have to give up my lifeguarding shifts yesterday and today, since I would not have been able to rescue someone if the need arised...or sit in the chair for a few hours. What have I been doing instead? Nothing much. Some reading and lot of watching (more news and sports than anything else - I'm interested in how the Iowa caucuses will turn out tonight and if the Bulls are finally turning the corner under new head coach Jim Boylan).

When a new year starts, I think about all the pop culture I'll be able to ingest in the coming months. I finished the 2008 preview issue of Wizard a short time ago and there's been information around online. So, here's a list of some things I can't wait to read, watch, or listen to in 2008...

Five books from Jeffrey Ford (the new novel, The Shadow Year; the reissues of his Well-Built City trilogy; and a new story collection
Michael Swanwick/The Dragons of Babel

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
The Dark Knight
Be Kind Rewind
Where the Wild Things Are

New seasons of The Wire, Lost, and Battlestar Galactica
An end to the WGA strike that is favorable to the writers, which will bring about the return of my favorite TV shows

Drive-By Truckers/Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Vampire Weekend/Vampire Weekend
Nada Surf/Lucky
American Music Club/The Golden Age
Mountain Goats/Heretic Pride
Aimee Mann/Smilers

The Starman Omnibus
Final Crisis
Kick-Ass
The final Y: The Last Man trade