Dropping in for a quick hello, plus a newsletter

It's been a little quiet here on The Journey of Now blog so far in 2020. That being the case, it was time to drop in for an update and some pop culture sightings.

Into the bag of tricks we dig, conjuring up a one-time reappearance of a good old fashioned newsletter.

More consistent posting will take place in the future. March Madness is nearly here so there will be plenty to discuss then. Then we have the Summer Olympics taking place in Tokyo. And next fall I'll be continuing my series following the careers of the five quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft.

I am also working on a couple of bigger writing projects outside of the normal plays and novels. One is a dive into an underrated sitcom from the 1990's. The other is in the vein of the summer box office tournaments and favorite holiday film tournament from year's past. Be sure to keep an eye for these projects later in 2020.

For now, we return to a newsletter and a few things I've been watching, reading, listening to, and more in pop culture world.

Television

Between network television, cable, and streaming services, there is so much content floating around that's it's nearly impossible to keep up. I've never been a fan of binge-watching shows. I prefer the old way, with episodes arriving weekly because there are certain times I need to marinate with an episode. This is why I rarely watch more than one or two episodes of a series in a single sitting. (The rare exception being last summer's Stranger Things 3, of which I became emotionally invested in, had the heart strings tugged on, only to find out what I feared: all those emotions were wasted because a believe-to-be-dead character is returning in Season 4).

Because of my lack of binge-watching skills, I fall behind. I tend to watch more of HBO because they release episodes on a weekly basis, but even so I find myself falling behind. I'm still one episode away from finishing the second season of The Deuce, still hanging out in season 1 of Deadwood -- I'm way behind on this one -- and working my way through season 1 of Succession. I love all three of these shows for the stories, the writing, the acting, and the filmmakers. 

I also like to mix in old stuff I've seen before and I'm currently revisiting Lost and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Outside of the above-mentioned HBO shows, here's some of what I'm enjoying:

• The Outsider (HBO)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
• Dollface (Hulu)
• Wu Tang: An American Saga (Hulu)
• Sex Education (Netflix)
• The Mandalorian (Disney Plus)

A special mention is reserved for NBC's The Good Place. This series recently completed its run, ending after a lovely four years. I arrived to the series late, catching up in time to watch the fourth and final season as it aired. And let me say this, the series finale it all of the right notes and -- I won't ruin it for those who haven't seen it -- has a final line of dialogue to close that show that will one day hopefully be remembered among the best ever.

Movies

I was going to leave this section out because I don't hardly see enough recently released movies, whether it be in theaters or streaming online.

This is a problem I've faced that last couple of years or so.

I love going to the movie theater and have challenged myself to remedy this by heading out to the cinema more often this year.

Outside of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, my film watching has been done in the comfort of my own home. Here are a few I've seen recently that many of you have likely already seen.

• Booksmart
• Marriage Story
• Captain Marvel

Yes, I didn't watch Captain Marvel until very recently, after I've already seen the completion of the Avengers films.

Music

Here, I'll say the response to this section myself: Ok, boomer.

I am of the X generation and afraid to admit I don't actively seek out new music. Sometimes, I'll stumble across a new band or musician that I'll check out. Mainstream music these days, I'm sad to report, is something I can't really get into for the most part. But I continue to try, knowing I do find those gems from time to time.

Blues music, folk music, and Jazz have all entered into my listening pleasures as of late. Nothing specific in these genres, mostly starting with the big names, but I'm digging deeper and will hopefully explore more in a post at a later date.

The local scene in Boise has piqued my interest. Sun Blood Stories is one of these bands. And The Green Zoo's new album An Odd End is rock-solid from start to finish.

Books

Last October, after years of not reading anything new by Terry Brooks, I finally returned to the world of Shannara. I finished up the three books in The Dark Legacy of Shannara series and am prepping myself to read The Black Elfstone, the first of a four-book set in which Brooks is closing the doors on the Shannara world (the final book is due out in the summer of 2020).

Before diving into that, I need to finished One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. This book was first written in 1967 and tells the genesis story of the Buendia family and their founding of the fictional town of Macondo. It's a story of culture, romance, war, with a magical-realism element to it, and is a fantastic read.

I'm also reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn because, well, I like to read all genres of books.

Podcasts

Took a break from listening to podcasts as there are even more of those to choose from than there is episodic content being created.

I've waded back in, recently listening to a couple. Your Own Backyard examines the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. Smart was never found and her case is still unsolved but has been in the news as of late, partially thanks to the emergence of the above podcast.

The other new -- to me -- podcast I've been listening to is one called 90 under 90. The crew here discussed movies that are 90 minutes or shorter, including classics like Airplane! and Revenge of the Nerds.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to read about what's keeping me entertained as of late. Time to sign off and go see what's happening on WWE: RAW.

Do you have anything in the pop culture world you're really digging right now? Suggestions are welcome so feel free to leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter: @jasonrh_78