December 2023 Update!
Reminder that this is mirrored from my Patreon page!
Do you know what I did yesterday? Absolutely nothing. I’m on a mini-vacation, visiting my brother and his family as a holiday preview. Already delivered their gifts and everything!
I’m still a bit scattered after the chaos of the last couple of months so bear with me. Another round of edits on The Naturalist Society arrived. This is pretty typical, along the lines of “Okay, all the structural problems are fixed, now here are all the fiddly thematic and character details we didn’t notice while you were fixing the structure!” Friends, there were tears.
There’s a happy ending: the manuscript is now headed to copy editing. Whew. What this means is it’s about time to start on something new.
As I mentioned, I did absolutely nothing yesterday except a little bit of yoga and reading. Comfy sofa and tea for the win. My brother’s yard also has hummingbirds, and I watched them for awhile.
I’m in a bit of a reading slump. I’ve started something like four novels and stalled out halfway through on all of them. I either need to find some cool nonfiction — or pick up Martha Wells’ new Murderbot novel, which I know will suck me right in.
On the other hand, I’m watching a ton of new shows and movies and am happy that part of my brain seems to have turned back on.
I caught up on Star Trek: Lower Decks, which I absolutely love. It’s possibly my favorite Trek. Which is interesting, because the only way it works is if you know Trek very, very well, because the inside jokes and references are nonstop and often deep cuts. It’s deconstructing everything you ever scratched your head about in Star Trek. Every problematic detail, it just lays it out there, but it’s done with so much love. And then this past season… They did all that, and then also threw us a poignant, heartbreaking gut punch of a detail that left me in tears. (Hint without spoilers: When Mariner tells us who her best friend at the Academy was. OMG. It brings the whole show back around to its source material. Just beautiful.)
Anyway, this — deconstructing a thing while also expressing deep love for a thing — is a difficult and neat trick. Another thing that does it very well is my favorite episode of The X-Files: “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space.” It’s masterful.
I’m halfway through the new season of Strange New Worlds and it’s okay. The characters are great, the stories are kind of meh, but the Lower Decks crossover episode was a thing of beauty. I have not yet watched the musical episode because it kind of scares me though people I trust have reassured me that it’s ok.
What else…
The Marvels: absolutely loved it. LOVED it. I laughed so much, and there was so much hugging. Kamala is the best and I love her. Something I really liked about it is how it brought us quickly up to speed on the back stories of the three main characters, without resorting to opening scrolls or infodumps or awkward conversations telling us things we already know.
Great British Baking Show. YES, more quirky Britishisms and accents and weird bakes that Americans know nothing about. I need to start up my “If I want to taste that thing on the GBBS I guess I need to make it myself” project again.
A big surprise for me: how much I’m enjoying Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV. It’s part of the series of recent Godzilla-Kong films, which have quietly built up this amazing continuity and franchise without people really noticing. The movies have been kind of great — cheesy, but in exactly the way a big overblown kaiju movie needs to be cheesy. Lots of great action, tight plotting. Knows what the assignment is, gets an A.
The TV show is the same. We’re getting the history of Monarch, the organization that has been studying the Titans like Kong and Godzilla for the last sixty years or so. Once again, it knows the assignment: very earnest characters, and amazing monster action in every episode. If that’s not enough to draw you in, Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt Russell play old and young versions of the same character. I love it when actors and their kids do that. My other favorite one of those is when June Lockhart and Anne Lockhart played old and young versions of the same character in the 1986 film Troll. Not making that up!
Speaking of, there’s another Godzilla film in theaters right now that’s getting fantastic reviews. Not sure when I’m going to get to it, but I really want to.
Oh my gosh y’all, it’s December. It’s the holidays. I don’t currently have a deadline. I get to start thinking about new things — like the new Cormac and Amelia novella I’ll be publishing in January.
Onward!
Stay safe this holiday season. Now, I think I need to go find some new cookie recipes to make. Any recommendations?
