Been a while
But I'm back!!!!
Things have just been crazy busy of late and I've been having a hard time finding time/getting motivated to post. But I really want to get back into the swing of things, so let me bring you up to speed on what I've been doing, media-wise, with a set of quick hits:
Musically, I've been uplolading my CD collection to my work laptop and am hoping to pick up a big external hard drive in the immediate future to carry around my ever-growing collection. I've returned to my musical roots, so to speak of late, listening to stuff like Styx, Van Halen/Van Hagar, some late 70's classics (Jay Ferguson's ~~THUNDER ISLAND among others), Billy Joel and Yes. Not much recent gets my attention, but I totally dig Dani California by the Chili Peppers and Jack Johnson is pretty good (On and On is an excellent record). Looking forward to picking up the DVD and CD versions of Dream Theater's 20th Anniversary concert at Radio City Music Hall. It'll be worth it to hear their 30-minute Octavarium done with a backing orchestra. Set list can be found here.
Saw most of the season finales for my preferred shows, but it took a while. There were no blowaways like last year's CSI finale, but they were, for the most part, pretty good. I have to say, though, that I find Miami's whole handling of the Horatio-Mala Noche storyline pretty ham-handed. Horatio breaks up this devastating gang in one episode (Season 4 premiere) and then suddenly they're shooting up a courtroom, killing Horatio's wife and running amok in the final three episodes. The finale was horrible, as it almost seemed they were writing it as they were filming it, with ideas seemingly spot welded together. I hope it all translates better on the season 4 DVD.
Speaking of which....
Some awesome DVD watching lately. My bud, Austin, loaned me Season 1 and Season 2.0 of the new Battlestar Galactica. I think this might be some of the most compelling storytelling I have ever come across. Every character is important and well-defined and causes a reaction. I'm looking forward to Season 2.5, which you can pre-order by clicking on the link.
I'm also 16 episodes through season 1 of Lost and I'm really into it. Although the premise seems, so far, to be a bit far-fetched, this is shaping up as classic sci-fi. I'm anxiously awaiting the resolutions in 8 more episodes.
Finally, I'm pushing through the second-last season of Homicide: Life on the Street (Season 6). If you are a fan of cop shows, this is a must-see. Very little in the way of violence, this show is a very intelligent, high-minded cop show. Hard to believe, though, that Tom Fontana went from doing this show to doing the scabrous, ugly, gritty HBO series Oz.
Anyhoo, that's about it. Oh, yeah, new Star Wars book series (The Dark Nest Trilogy) which I am reading. I'm almost through Book 1 and it's well worth the time.
Later.
Things have just been crazy busy of late and I've been having a hard time finding time/getting motivated to post. But I really want to get back into the swing of things, so let me bring you up to speed on what I've been doing, media-wise, with a set of quick hits:
Musically, I've been uplolading my CD collection to my work laptop and am hoping to pick up a big external hard drive in the immediate future to carry around my ever-growing collection. I've returned to my musical roots, so to speak of late, listening to stuff like Styx, Van Halen/Van Hagar, some late 70's classics (Jay Ferguson's ~~THUNDER ISLAND among others), Billy Joel and Yes. Not much recent gets my attention, but I totally dig Dani California by the Chili Peppers and Jack Johnson is pretty good (On and On is an excellent record). Looking forward to picking up the DVD and CD versions of Dream Theater's 20th Anniversary concert at Radio City Music Hall. It'll be worth it to hear their 30-minute Octavarium done with a backing orchestra. Set list can be found here.
Saw most of the season finales for my preferred shows, but it took a while. There were no blowaways like last year's CSI finale, but they were, for the most part, pretty good. I have to say, though, that I find Miami's whole handling of the Horatio-Mala Noche storyline pretty ham-handed. Horatio breaks up this devastating gang in one episode (Season 4 premiere) and then suddenly they're shooting up a courtroom, killing Horatio's wife and running amok in the final three episodes. The finale was horrible, as it almost seemed they were writing it as they were filming it, with ideas seemingly spot welded together. I hope it all translates better on the season 4 DVD.
Speaking of which....
Some awesome DVD watching lately. My bud, Austin, loaned me Season 1 and Season 2.0 of the new Battlestar Galactica. I think this might be some of the most compelling storytelling I have ever come across. Every character is important and well-defined and causes a reaction. I'm looking forward to Season 2.5, which you can pre-order by clicking on the link.
I'm also 16 episodes through season 1 of Lost and I'm really into it. Although the premise seems, so far, to be a bit far-fetched, this is shaping up as classic sci-fi. I'm anxiously awaiting the resolutions in 8 more episodes.
Finally, I'm pushing through the second-last season of Homicide: Life on the Street (Season 6). If you are a fan of cop shows, this is a must-see. Very little in the way of violence, this show is a very intelligent, high-minded cop show. Hard to believe, though, that Tom Fontana went from doing this show to doing the scabrous, ugly, gritty HBO series Oz.
Anyhoo, that's about it. Oh, yeah, new Star Wars book series (The Dark Nest Trilogy) which I am reading. I'm almost through Book 1 and it's well worth the time.
Later.
posted by Brian at 7/12/2006
