Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 254

December 16, 2018: Suji Sunday!

Snow dog!

Bath time!

Our little angel.

Thinking…

The 2019 Suji pins are on their way!

December 15, 2018: Schadenfreude!

Read a couple of books today, one of them, Schadenfreude: The Joy of Another’s Misfortune by Tiffany Watt Smith offers a delightful exploration of the complex emotion that sees us derive pleasure in the failures or humiliations of others.  And, by “others”, I mean rivals, bullies, hypocrites, and runway models in impossibly high heels.

Anyway, an informative, highly-entertaining read that got me to thinking about the memorable instances of schadenfreude I’ve experienced, instances big and small.

Like that time I was driving home one night and was almost sideswiped by a sports car weaving wildly in and out of traffic before speeding off.  Fifteen minutes later, I drove by the same car parked on the shoulder, its driver contending with an officer in an unmarked police car as other passing motorists honked their best wishes in passing.

Or that time many years ago when, I as a young, un-produced writer, submitted a pitch to a teen series only to have it go unanswered for months.  And then, while attempting to follow up, being reprimanded by the show’s producer – who, two years later, ended up having to pitch me his new show in my new position as a manager of animation development.

And that time that executive, who kind of screwed me over on that one deal, later ended up getting turfed for expensing escorts to his company account.

Yep, life’s full of ’em.

Please, do regale us with your personal instances of delectable schadenfreude.

December 14, 2018: My Glorious Reading Year!

Not bad.  Not bad at all.  With roughly twelve reading days left in 2018, my goal of 365 books (Yes, a book a day) looks well within reach.  Granted, roughly 25% of those books were graphic novels so purists could argue I attained a much less impressive 275 titles on the year but still – I’ll take it.

As I prepare for my annual Best Of rundown, I took a closer look at my glorious reading year and discovered…

Over half the books I read were 2018 releases.

Of the 365+ books read on the year, I rated roughly 250 titles average (mostly) to poor.

Over 100 of the books I read this year I gave a rating of good (mostly) to excellent (all of 11).

I read across all genres, but noted General Fiction was far and away my most popular reading category followed my thrillers/mystery/suspense, sci-fi, non-fiction, horror, and fantasy (in that order).

Recommendations from established sites and award nominees and winners offered an very mixed bag – a few excellent reads but a lot of unimpressive offerings and even a few shockingly bad books.  Still, I suppose it beats twitter.

I’m thinking that this time around, instead of posting my annual all-encompassing countdown, I would offer up my top picks across various categories including my selections for Best of Not 2018, books I read this past year that were published prior to 2018.

Would love to hear what 2018 releases made YOUR best of list.  There still may be time for me to hunt down a copy!

 

December 13, 2018: Japan Photos – Final Edition!

Pokeman-inspired offerings at Osaka cafe.

Just a few of the Hello Kitty-themed phone accessories at the Sanrio store.

Akemi snags a biscuit from some poor unsuspecting elderly shop mascot.

I suspect this is an advertisement for some spa where you can get away from it all, enjoy a sumptuous buffet, and then enjoy a nice, relaxing curry sauna.

Subway poster warning punch-happy drunken salarymen: “We’ve got eyes on you!”

This poor kid broke his arm playing in this parking lot.  May what happened to him be a lesson to you all!

The interior garden in Akemi’s Osaka family home.

Akemi kicking back in Roppongi Hills.

Tonight, I’m making a rare foray into an industry event as I hit the Writers Guild of Canada pre-holiday bash.  I plan to really tear it up – in the hour or so I’ll be there before heading home in time for my 10 p.m. bedtime reading.  Partaaaay!

December 12, 2018: Week’s Best Comic Book Covers!

There were my favorites…

Spider-Man Worldwide, vol. 9 (cover art by Alex Ross)

Doctor Strange: The Best Defense #1 (cover art by Greg Smallwood)

Shadowman #10 (cover art by Tonci Zonjic)

Star Wars, Vol. 9: Hope Dies (cover art by Travis Charest)

Sword Daughter, vol. 1 (cover art by Greg Smallwood)

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spiderman #313 (cover art by Jeff Dekal)

So, which were your faves?

December 11, 2018: A cryptic text, going for 365, my Snow Monkeys, and the sun hog!

Hmmmmm.  Received a most intriguing yet mysterious text this afternoon by someone with some very interesting news.  But the number is not in my list of contacts and, while I can possibly guess the sender’s identity (New phone number perhaps?), I can’t be certain.  My “Wait.  Who is this?” response went unanswered and so, for the foreseeable future, I can only stew and consider the possibilities.  All I can say is how bizarre yet absolutely amazing if true.

Cryptic enough for ya?

Pleased to report I have eight more books to read in order to complete by 365 titles in 365 days record reading year.  I’m working on a breakdown and, so far, 183 of the titles were 2018 releases.  Not bad.  I’ve got 30 books on digital hold from my local library and I anxiously await the email notification informing me I’m good to go, while madly refreshing the hold page to see how far along the queue I’ve progressed on my various waits.  #18 on 8 copies of Baby Teeth!  #1 on 5 copies of River of Stars!  #884 on 250 copies of Educated!

It is with great sadness I report the premature end to my fantasy football season in one league.  My Snow Monkeys were undone by the underperforming likes of Alvin Kamara, Larry Fitzgerald, DJ Moore, and Baker Mayfield.  Now, my hopes rest with my Snow Monkeys in my second league where they battle former Dark Matter VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson’s L’s Legit Team.  I’m feeling confident.

Man, check out the sun hog –

 

December 10, 2018: Japan video journey!

Tokyo cityscape

Awesome TV Asahi big screen commercial

The streets of Osaka

The streets of Nishi Azabu

Akemi’s conversation with Pepper-kun

The decontructed/reconstructed truffled egg yolk

December 9, 2018: Japan Etc.

Some of the many highlights of our recent Japan trip that I didn’t have time to upload while traveling…

Our hotel was located close to the Takarazuka Theater which hosts nightly performances of an all-female musical theater troupe comprised of six groups numbering a total of 400 members (graduates of the esteemed Takarazuka Music School).  Every evening, post-performance, a group of fans gather, all women, to patiently await their idols.  On one night we happened by, we saw two of the actresses interact with their fans, greeting them warmly as they accepted what looked like theater programs (or fan letters?).  According to Akemi, many of these fans respond to the lush sets, costumes, and love stories at the heart of the productions, but most feel a connection to the individual actresses, especially those who play the roles of idealized male figures.

Our visit to TV Asahi took us to a mini museum display of one of Japan’s most iconic manga/cartoon characters, Doraemon, a robot cat from the future.  The manga ran for almost 30 years while the animated series boasts three different incarnations numbering over 2300 episodes.  Over the course of his innumerable adventures, Doraemon made use of a slew of wacky 22nd century items he brought back with him.  Among them: an Anywhere Door that can take you – well – anywhere, special shoes that let you step into a book’s story, a device that makes dreams a reality, a passport that forgives your sins, a pen that solves any problem, a flashlight whose light beam returns damaged items to their original undamaged state, a cupid-like bow and arrow set, a megaphone that makes lies come true, a bread that acts as a notepad for you to write things down so that once consumed you’ll always be able to recall what you wrote/ate, a clone-creating camera, a doll that creates a kooky clone of whoever touches its nose, a belt that inhibits you from doing wrong, a mirror whose reflections become a reality allowing you to create multiple versions of whatever you put in front of it, a snack that allows animals to understand you, and puppet that will answer any question you ask it.

This utterly insane collection of exquisitely detailed cakes on display at The Imperial Hotel.

These varied window displays.

December 8, 2018: Architecture of Japan!

December 7, 2018:

We cannot move to Japan.  One in every three girls you find cute.

Akemi (December 6, 2018 – Tokyo)

Well, we’re back home and settled.  Ish.  I fell asleep at 1:30 a.m. last night.  Woke up two hours later, took a Benadryl, and slept in until 10:00 a.m.  Hopefully, tonight, I’ll be able to sleep straight through – until one of the dogs has an accident on the bed.

So, I may have mentioned that, prior to my Tokyo departure, I pitched my uber-secret Untitled Awesome Project to a broadcaster.  The pitch, I thought, went very well, but experience has taught me to temper expectations.  So even though I was incredibly excited about the project (which I’ve likened in tone and theme to Dark Matter with a potentially broader appeal) and despite the positive response to the pitch, I vowed to put it out of my mind while I was on vacation.  And then, on my last day in Tokyo, I received a message informing me that we’ve been given the go-ahead on a pilot script, a sign the broadcaster sees some real potential here.  So, still in the development phase, but a HUGE step forward.

Check it out!  Akemi found a rice cracker shaped like The Destiny.  Is this a sign?!!!

High-steppin’ back into the neighborhood.