SUMMER PROJECT UPDATE

Project #1: Start writing a novel
Progress: None whatsoever

Project #2: Work towards recording an EP
Progress: I have written one new song in the last few weeks

Project #3: Reread all 9 volumes of Y: The Last Man in preparation for the 10th and final volume
Progress: Completed, along with reading the last volume (it was fantastic!)

Project #4: Start my wife watching Battlestar Galactica
Progress: We are currently a few episodes into the 2nd season; she is completely hooked

SUMMER PROJECTS

I spent a good part of my morning clearing the decks - paging through the Wizard I wasted money on the other day, plus the new Previews, Spin, and a couple issues of Entertainment Weekly. I just felt like I needed to make some psychic space for myself. Why? I have some summer projects in mind and as today is June 1, it seems like it's time to start.

When I looked like I would have 5 weeks off of work, I decided that it was time to finally start writing a novel. Now that I may be working more, I still want to start writing a novel. I know which idea I want to start with and I'm looking forward to the challenge. I have not as yet decided on a schedule or set word goals or anything. I think I'll just start and see how it goes.

I've also got it in my head that I want to record an EP and have it out by the end of the year at the latest. I have enough songs now but I'd like to write a couple more to give myself options. I have people who I would like to be in the first recorded version of Aquatic Detective and I'm pretty sure they will all say yes (Graham already has). I'm very excited about this possibility as well and will obviously update on any progress.

I want to reread Y: The Last Man in preparation for the final volume, which is supposed to arrive on June 18. That gives me about 2 1/2 weeks to read 9 trades. Of course, I have 2 books out from the library right now (I started in on The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy this morning) and another 7 requested. And that doesn't count the 4 issues of F&SF and the 2 issues of Asimov's that are stacked up. We'll see.

Side note: I've decided that I'm going back to reading only trades for my comics input. Jill did some cleaning this weekend and it solidified for me again that it's far easier to store trades than individual issues. I also have two trades in my file at the comics shop and buying a couple comics every week like I've been doing doesn't get me closer to getting those in my hands. So, back to trades it is.

Finally, I'm going to start my wife on Battlestar Galactica. I know she will like the show and it will be a good way for me to watch everything up to this point again. Only 2 more episodes left of Season 4 for now and who knows when will get the rest...maybe not until next year. Sigh. Oh, and if we get through BSG quickly enough, I want to start her on The Wire too.

I've set myself up for a busy summer and this doesn't include socializing and open mics and all of the other small pleasures that pop up along the way. That's fine. I'm ready for some ambition and can't wait to get going.

MORE SHORTS/PROJECTS

I actually wore shorts on Thursday, which was nice. Of course, I spend my days in a bathing suit so I guess it's not the biggest deal in the world. Yesterday it was in the low 80s and we sweltered in Chicago while seeing a show at Comedy Sportz (drama club field trip); today it's cooler with tomorrow and the next few days set to be even worse. There's even talk of snow. Not unprecedented around here (it snowed the day of my senior prom, which was early May) but still rare.

To completely change the subject, you can now hear two songs of Aimee Mann's upcoming album, @#%&*! Smilers, here. It comes out June 10 and I can't wait.

The season finale of Torchwood was fantastic and completely heartbreaking on a variety of levels. I'm curious as to where they'll go from here. I bet Martha Jones will be back.

Thanks to this week's return of Lost (hello again, smoke monster), Thursday night now features 2 great hours of TV, preceeded by a solid hour (My Name Is Earl is definitely the weakest link, even though Scrubs isn't as strong as it used to be). Oh, the 2 hours is The Office and 30 Rock and Lost. All had really really good episodes this week. And then to get new eps of Battlestar Galactica the next night? I love you, TV.

I was reading through the Summer Movie Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly and realized I had another project to undertake. We are about 3 1/2 weeks away from the opening of the new Indiana Jones movie and I still need to show the first three to my son. Got to get on that.

DOWN TO ONE

I've managed to hack the DVR back down to my being only one week behind again. Of course, it helps that In Treatment ending a couple weeks ago. However, I captured the last 3 episodes of the 3rd season of Doctor Who yesterday; I'd like to watch them again before I start on the new season (the first ep of which is already recorded) now that I know more about the show and Torchwood.

Speaking of Torchwood, I'm down to only one episode left on the DVR and it's last night's season finale. Today I watched last week's penultimate episode and it was a really good one. A bomb trapped four members of the team and as they were dug out, we saw how they became involved with the outfit. Very interesting. And the finale promises to be a humdinger too.

I also have the final episode of the first season of Mad Men sitting on the DVR. Not sure why I didn't tune into the series when it originally aired but I'm glad AMC ran it again. Looking forward to seeing how things ended so I can start getting excited about the upcoming 2nd season.

I think there's only one remaining episode of Human Giant yet to air as well; I still have one on the DVR.

The final episode of John Adams aired tonight, which means I still have 2 to watch. That's been a very good series as well and I absolutely love the musical theme.

That about covers what I have left to watch...except for the Knight Rider movie from February. We'll get around to it some day...

Oh, and I now have 3 eps of Battlestar Galactica, which I'm saving until I can get Jill through all the DVDs. I know she'll like the show and you all should be watching it too. I looooved Friday's episode and can't wait until next week...

ARRIVALS

It was a big day today, as some boxes of goodies that I ordered with birthday cash and gift cards arrived. Plus, it's a Wednesday - new comics! It's a nice relief to a long day at work. Here's what I got...

Battlestar Galactica Season Three
Big Dipper/Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology
The Black Keys/Attack & Release
Booster Gold #8
Michael Chabon/Maps and Legends
Justice Society of America #14

I also would have gotten Criminal Vol. 2 #2 but my shop had a shortage on it, so maybe next week. I love getting new stuff.

FRAKKIN' SHADOWS

I just finished reading The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford, my 14th book of the year. The novel is an expansion of his novella "Botch Town," which was original to his last story collection, The Empire of Ice Cream. It is very very good and I spent 8 days reading it because I didn't want it to be over, even though I'd read a good chunk of it before. Ford is the real deal and a writer who everyone should be reading; he is adept at both the novel and shorter forms. This year is a big Ford year too, as we will get his third story collection and reissues of a three novel series from Golden Gryphon this fall. Five Ford books in one year that I haven't read? Wow.

I mentioned last week that it took the impending 4th season start of Battlestar Galactica to get me to finally watch Battlestar Galactica: Razor. It wasn't set between the 3rd and 4th seasons but backed up a bit to tell more of the story of the Pegasus, while adding in some teasers and depth for the final season. I liked it and had some fun looking at some of the extras (though not all of them yet).

Friday night was the season premiere and I was all set to watch...but ended up going out to see some friends play. I got half of the episode watched before work Saturday morning and then jumped right back into when I got home. Soooo good. So good. I cannot wait for more. I also saved the ep on the DVR because I want to start Jill on the show and she's willing. Not sure when we'll start but she says we don't have to wait for the summer. Yay.

SING IT, MIKE

I've decided to discontinue my monthly roundups. Fuck the numbers, though I will still keep track of my book totals. Hell, I've been doing that since 2001.

I started on a book this evening, having left the Mar. 2008 Asimov's at work. Twice. Ah well, I'll get back to it at some point. Anyway, I'm now reading The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford. Ford is a writer everyone should be reading.

Picked up the new REM album today. I was a little apprehensive about it, what with all the praise it's been getting. Sometimes it just seems like critics get together and all decide whether to celebrate a "rebirth" or to keep trashing a band regardless of content. I've only listened once but it sounded pretty good - love hearing those Mike Mills harmonies!

JSA Presents: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Vol.. 1 didn't hold up quite as well as I'd remembered it, alas. It was an impulse purchase - last thing spotted, really. Ah well, can't win them all. On the plus side, I dug the head trip that was Casanova: Luxuria - twins, alternate worlds, futuristic aborigines, robots, multiple acronymned organizations...hard to beat. Well played, Fraction.

How excited am I getting for the return of Battlestar Galactica? Enough to finally watch BSG: Razor! Should happen tomorrow...

SMASHING

Last Thursday Grant finally had enough money to buy Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. He's been playing it a lot, obviously, but Jill and I have gotten in the act too. Man, it is a ton of fun. You can fight on a variety of worlds from Nintendo games and as a wide variety of characters. You get to punch and use lightsabers and flip and all sorts of cool things as you try and knock out the other players. Last night I dominated as Mario, cutting way down on getting knocked off and upping my kill power. I love this game.

Yesterday I got a score of 8919 on computer solitaire, which is easily the highest score I've ever reached. I should probably retire, especially since I could be doing more productive things than playing it.

I spent a couple days last week reading through Justice Society of America: The Next Age, which collects the first 4 issues of the relaunched and ongoing series. I read these as they came out last year and liked them enough to get them in a collected edition. Geoff Johns is dealing with the legacy of the JSA, bringing in new characters and tieing into the past. It's the kind of DC comic that I go for and would love to write. Maybe someday.

I watched a cool Doctor Who two-parter ("Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood") over the weekend, breaking my self-imposed rule of watching show off the DVR in chronological order. The Doctor is being hunted by the family and flees to 1913 to hide, becoming fully human in the process. The aliens track him and Martha (masquerading as a servant) isn't sure what to do. It's a look at what it means to be human and what the Doctor sacrifices by being who he is. Really great work by the cast and writer Paul Cornell. This now brings me back to where I came in on the series, as "Blink" airs this coming Saturday. I'll probably watch the end of the third season again, especially now having seen just about the entire series (I missed maybe an ep or two somewhere along the line). Season 4 starts airing in April too, I think.

Speaking of series starting in April, I need to watch Battlestar Galactica: Razor before the final season starts on April 4. Frak yeah. Oh, you can find the cast's appearance on David Letterman doing a Top Ten list on You Tube...in character!

I also watched the first part of HBO's John Adams mini-series yesterday and found it thoroughly engrossing - both for the story and the performance of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney and John and Abigail. Part two takes John to Philadelphia for the first Contintenal Congress and part three is also on the DVR.

Meanwhile, we're heading to Columbus for a few days tomorrow to visit Jill's dad and his wife. It will be nice to get away for a few days!