Up For Air

It's been some time since I've sent a note from the North Coast.

Though it's been quiet here, I have been writing more elsewhere. In my journal, and in some new stories which I've finished. I'm submitting exclusively to paying markets now. These are much tougher to break into. Despite getting reacquainted with the persistent sting of rejection, I'm going to keep charging the ramparts. Acceptances are great, but getting a check for one would be a further validation.

It's tough to find new movies that I want to see these days, so I've begun looking back in time to find them. Since about last year or so, I've concentrated on watching French new wave films (mostly Godard), and those by Kurosawa. It's been an amazing run of films so far. If I had to pick favorites at this point, they would be Godard's My Life To Live, and Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. There've been others as well, such as Jean Pierre Melville's Le Samourai, and Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story. All of these and more from these periods are outstanding filmmaking.

My momentum has been slowed recently by the closing of the Filmstruck site, to which I had subscribed. Criterion plans to open its own app in the spring though, and I plan subscribing there. It's hard to call yourself a film fan if you haven't seen many of these movies that are considered exemplars of the form. I feel like I've only just scratched the surface.

On TV, I'm watching season 2 of Humans, and season 3 of The Last Kingdom. It took some time for Humans to grow on me, but they treat the conceit of realistic androids seriously and with intelligence. There are other details that bring such a future to life, such as real humans developing the urge to live like their synthetic counterparts. The Last Kingdom is my necessary occasional dose of Dark Ages insanity. The show really brings the pagan edge, and in this current season, alliances seem to shift as rapidly as the winter winds. I finished season 2 of Preacher a little over a month ago, and it was much better than the first season. There was one moment that still makes me laugh whenever I think about it.

I hope to be posting more often into the new year. Health issues the past couple months reduced my energy, and I saved what I had for the fiction. But I'm slowly improving, and will use my time as wisely as possible.

Tomorrow is the solstice. After then, the light begins to return in the northern hemisphere. The prospect of another spring and summer on this planet is reason enough to hold on.

Peace, and have a wonderful holiday.