Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Ending the Bender

Mary Ann and I have been bingeing on Heroes for the last few weeks.  As fans of the show realize, the third season of Heroes begins this Monday, so we needed to play catch-up.  Let me explain:  I'm a contrary sort of guy.  If a TV show gets popular I do my best to avoid it.  There's something satisfying in the look of bewilderment on a Lost fan's face when I tell them I don't watch the show.  The same goes for 24, though I'm not sure that one has as big a following as it once did.  Up until a couple of weeks ago Heroes fell into the same category.  Fortunately for Milo Ventimiglia, I recently regained an interest in comic books, which lead to a softening of the heart when it comes to shows involving super heroes.  We were picking up some $.99 movies at Blockbuster, so I grabbed season one, disc one.  We got hooked.

Two weeks have passed, and it's all over.  We have seen seasons one and two, often watching two or three episodes in a night.  Most of the time we would start at 10:00 PM and continue until about 1 AM.  This hasn't been great for our ability to think clearly during working hours which, I'm certain, has contributed to my anemic post-count in September.  I can't seem to write anything good these days.

This will seem a bit over the top, but I feel a bit like I've gone on a bender and am just now sobering up.  My head is clearing up, and soon I'll be able to write . . . for my classes.  That's frustrating.  I haven't kept up with my reading very well this semester.   It's been hard because I am heading in a different direction now.  It's not that I don't want to learn the stuff being taught--it's the Bible after all--but I need to be writing so I can have something good ready for an MFA program.  And I need to prepare for the GRE.  But hey, at least I remember what I need to do now.  That's the first step in recovery.

5 comments:

S.D. Smith said...

I have the same pompous attitude toward new shows and the "must-see" stuff. I still haven't seen "The Passion" and I think about twelve-thousand people told me I "just have to" and many other persuasive lines, including, but not limited to the fact that people were really going to change their lives now because now they felt so sorry for Jesus.

Anyway, I do like Lost, and the Office, both very popular. So, not so smug. But I'm way too smug for Heroes, kuh. I'd rather be watching C-Span, he says, striking pinky into air and sipping tea.

I'm glad you're sobering up. But stay cool, try to read things that very few people understand, or have even heard of.

Joshua Duncan said...

I did see "The Passion," but I've managed to avoid "Titanic." That counts for something, right?

I'm gearing up to read some obscure stuff now, though. From West Virginia writers, no less! I'm going to order "Town Smokes" by Pinckney Benedict and "The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake." Have you ever read either?

Oh, and I'd like to read some stuff by that S.D. Smith guy as well.

S.D. Smith said...

I think avoiding "Titanic" is the popular culture equivalent of avoiding the actual iceberg that the actual Titanic could not avoid. What a waste of time and a horrendous rewriting of history along the lines of Marxist ideology. Other than that, it was great.

The WV writers you mentioned? I've never heard of them. It must be good stuff.

And as to S.D. Smith. Anyone who uses initials has to be so pretentious he's definitely got to be awesome. And hard to understand.

Jeff Kerr said...

Josh, I'm not surprised that you don't watch Lost. Just disappointed. It's amazing and mind-bending. And The Passion was okay, but I'm not sure I'd say someone "just has to see it."

Anonymous said...

I am presently reading your book on the writings of Thomas Aquinas that I never returned to you. If you want it, you'll have to come to Athens to get it. It should not surprise you that I've not heard of either of those WV authors either seeing as I now live in OH.

Rex Queems (the phony)