Growing up in a pre-cable television society, television watching in the summer revolved around a collection of shows.When I wasn't outside playing Wiffle ball, creating fantasy leagues in my head and ultimately knocking the game winning home run out of the park, I could be found in front of the television.
This wasn't a daylong thing, as I was also responsible for building forts on my family's property and collecting ants and placing them in jars to study their tunnel making ways. But when I did find myself in front of the television, my eyes belonged to The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, and the original Batman.
These were the syndicated shows of my childhood heyday. Heck, my Sundays to this day usually involve The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, and Saved by the Bell on in the background on MeTV as I go about my Sunday chores.
Batman has taken a back seat over the years, but I indulge myself in the occasional Saturday night viewing on the above mentioned channel. These shows transport me to a simpler time; a time when my only worries were if my fort had stayed up over night and if my "stuffed animal" Wiffle ball team would again defeat my sister's or brother's team of stuffed animal all-stars (they did).
Adam West was part of that childhood. The WHAM! POW! of my youth will always be remembered, as will Mr. West, who passed away earlier today. Bringing his superpower ways to people's lives, even in the non-personal way of being viewed through a television screen, will never be forgotten.
On with the newsletter.
Currently reading: After months of delay, I finally broke down and bought A Feast for Crows, the fourth novel in the Game of Thrones series. Normally, the library had been my source for reading these books. Seeing the novel on sale convinced me to purchase the book rather than to continue to wait to see if it would ever be checked in at the library.
I also finished Neil Gaiman's Stardust. I had never read any of Gaiman's work over the years and decided to start small before jumping into his American Gods.
Currently watching: I'm watching Garden State right now. Don't judge me.
Home Alone is also on CMT so maybe I'll switch it to that channel.
Okay. I'm working my way through the third season of Bloodline. Though it's lost some of its steam and intrigue from the first season, I am powering through because of my admiration of Coach Tay, er ,Kyle Chandler. I will watch anything with a Friday Night Lights alum in it. Any. Thing.
Currently listening to: I recently purchased Damn by Kendrick Lamar. I settled on a compact disc instead of vinyl, mostly because I haven't gone full on hipster yet and started purchasing vinyl for new releases. (If in fact it is indeed available on vinyl).
I have really got into Kendrick Lamar over the past year. I don't really care for most of the new hip hop, am mostly an old school guy, and Lamar has that same storytelling ability in him. (Same with Chance the Rapper.)
Podcast time: Not a whole lot has changed here in the normal rotation I mentioned last month. I have added Pod Save America and Myths and Legends to the list. The first involves a heavy dose of liberal politics and the latter, well, speaks for itself. There was a time, in being a writer of fantasy novels, in which I tried to avoid this sort of thing while currently working on a project in the genre. I didn't want stuff like that or other fantasy novels to influence my own writing. As I've grown older, I've learned that avoiding the subject has quite the opposite effect.
The Thin Air Podcast also returned with new episodes on May 29 so my slate of podcasts is pretty full (but ever growing).
Thanks for taking a few moments to read over what is capturing my pop culture interest(s) this month. I'm also watching the NBA Finals, of which you can catch my thoughts on this very site later Saturday night or some point on Sunday. Stay tuned.
"We are all undergoing the mythological adventure without even knowing it."- Joseph Campbell
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