Thursday, April 24, 2008

Comics turned me to a life of crime

So where were we?

Most of you probably know this already, but for those who don't: We're having a baby. We're 14 weeks in and everything looks good. Not much else to report for now, though, in a month or so, we intend to find out the sex. (It has always seemed kind of rude to me to refer to he/she as "it" or "baby" for nine months.) In any case, we are very happy, excited, etc. I'll undoubtedly have more to say about this anon.

In other news:

I've been boycotting Idol since the last time I posted about it, but I'll admit to checking the results on the interwebs. This may come as a shock to you, but I think we need to face some facts: Idol voters are complete idiots. There have been moments every season when this becomes pretty clear, but with less consequence than this season. Michael and Carly should have been in the top four. Can you imagine any of the remaining six actually winning this thing? And being excited about it? Does anyone really think David Archuletta is going to be a pop star?

I was bored on Sunday afternoon and started watching an archaeology/adventure movie with Dr. Carter from ER, but it was pretty horrible. After a few minutes of that, I had a hankering for the real deal and put Raiders in the DVD player. Some of the special effects are a bit archaic (e.g., the face-melting scene), but I would say that it holds up remarkably well. Relatedly, Cinematical lists their 10 most anticipated films of the summer. We don't get to the movies except for special occasions, though I think IJATKOTCS may qualify. (To give you a sense of how rare such occasions are, the last were Casino Royale and those silly hobbit movies.) As to the rest, I think we can wait to see them at home.

Herewith is an interesting review (by Louis Menand in The New Yorker) of David Hajdu's The Ten-Cent Plague, about the congressional investigations into the comic-book industry in the early 1950s. Hajdu's books sounds interesting, though I shall not be reading it. However, I did just finish reading Michael Chabon's Kavalier and Clay. I mention this because Chabon uses the congressional hearings for his own strange and wonderful purposes toward the end of that strange and wonderful book. I should perhaps note that Kavaier and Clay is the best book I've read in a while--and I try to read only good books. If you've been searching for a good book to read, here it is. It will be of particular interest to our readers who have an unhealthy interest in comic books--you know who you are.

Posted by jwb at 11:00 AM   

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I read my signed copy of K&C years ago. Hah.

Meanwhile, I actually watched iDol the past two nights and was stunned by the great, and horrible, performances. And hated myself the whole time.
at 1:42 PM     

Blogger Bram said:

Ditto. On the signed K&C, I mean.

Still one of the best books I've read in the past decade. And with much broader appeal than for just those with an unhealthy comic book habit.
at 6:50 PM     

Post a Comment
« home