Going the Distance
Few of us have made it to the end of 2020 without feeling a sense of loss, I suspect, even if we’re fortunate enough not have been directly visited by the most unspeakable of tragedies.
I’ve rarely strayed into social commentary here on the blog, preferring to keep it focused on fun stuff and critiques of pop-cultural pursuits. Nothing about the deep ideological divides and systemic racism that have gripped this country is amusing, nor is the novel coronavirus that’s claimed the lives of at least 1 in 1,000 Americans and nearly 2,000,000 people worldwide. But in the pandemic’s early days, especially, I was among those who tried to cope with (or reinforce) the recommended strategies for mitigation of transmission using humor. All deference and respect granted to those who just can’t laugh right now, I thought I’d share my efforts as a snapshot of where I/we found ourselves this year.
Boba, It’s Cold Outside
I brainstormed the following list a few years ago on a lark. While I shared via Twitter and Facebook, I didn’t here at the time because I knew activity would be light and wasn’t keen to have dated Yuletide content atop the front page year-round — sure enough, I put it up last December (as you can see from dates in the comments) only to take it down in January. Posting it now is relevant to the cultural moment, of course, but also helps ensure that I finally get crackin’ on the blog again so we don’t have to keep looking at…
My Top Eleven Star Wars Holiday Songs
11. “Silent Night, Carbonite”
10. “Here We Come a-Wookieeing”
9. “O Little Town of Walrus Men”
Week Links
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was not on last week, but will be on tonight — and with John Oliver. What are the odds, I ask you?
I, Sited
A very long time coming, I Have Issues has gone live.
Well, I’m likely stretching the definition of “live” there. Right now all you’ll see is a
logo and tag line, plus — maybe, depending on the results of my internal debate on whether it adds value or subtracts from the minimalist placeholder tease — a brief mission statement. That’s more than was up yesterday, however, even though I registered the domain a while back and have been planning the site for over a decade.
Rating X
I saw Dark Phoenix last night and, not for the first time, was amazed at how my reaction to a $200 million effects-laden event film with bankable stars reprising popular roles could be “That was it? Eh.”
No spoilers ahead.
Oh Snap
Up now at my website The Comicologist is an article that I wrote on Thanos for the magazine ACE back in 2015.
Panels from The Infinity Gauntlet #1 © 1991 Marvel Comics. Pencils: George Pérez.
Inks: Josef Rubinstein & Tom Christopher. Colors: Christie Scheele & Ian Laughlin
I’ve posted a version with images and one without, since the former is rather heavy on the graphics. That’s due in part to the article’s length, which in turn is a consequence of the breadth of the character’s publication history — or vice versa. You might want to wait to read it until after you see Avengers: Endgame if you’re not already familiar with the comics, although my guess is that any spoilers pertain more to last year’s Infinity War.