Best of the Week - May 11

I thought I'd try something new (since I don't seem to be writing much) this week. My bests of the week. I'll try to do this each Friday, so long as my interest holds up. We'll see how long that'll be.

Best Movie: Not much movie watching this week. Although last week I did get to see Hot Fuzz and it kicked everything's and everyone's ass. Don't cross that film, it's packing heat. I don't think I liked it as much as Shaun of the Dead, but then I'm a zombie film obsessive and not a cop film obsessive. I don't think there's much difference in the quality of the two films, just a personal preference for the walking dead. That said, there were quite a few extremely gory moments in Hot Fuzz that took me by (pleasant) surprise. The two best had to be the tribute to The Omen and the spike through the chin and out the mouth "bit". Very nicely done.

For the future, I just bought the Alejandro Jodorowsky DVD set, and can't wait to get a chance to watch El Topo and Holy Mountain again. Maybe next week. Or sometime while my girlfriend is at work or sleeping.

Best TV: Damn, but there was a lot of good tv this week. Heroes started the week off strong as it builds toward the first season finale. I didn't care for this show too much when it started out, but I stuck with it (mainly since there isn't much good science fiction on television), and it has paid off. I'm loving it. It could have easily been my best tv viewing of the week.

Then Lost shows up and knocks it out of the park again, this time with flashbacks to Ben's childhood on the island (with Uncle Rico as his asshole dad!!!), and a Locke-centric story that ended with a monstrous cliffhanger. There was gunfire involved, a big pit of skeletons, and an invisible friend. Oh my. Surely that would top the week.

Then My Name is Earl aired its season finale last night, and once again jumped to the top of my viewing list. Earl got a new girlfriend, lost the new girlfriend, and then confessed to a crime he didn't commit to keep Joy out of prison and home with her family. The Trailer Park Boys similarities are complete now, as Earl finishes his season by going to jail. Nice.

That was followed by another brilliant episode of The Office. This time it featured Beach Day, a survivor-inspired search for Michael's possible replacement, sumo wrestling, and fire walking. Creed again displayed what a freak he is, Toby made me very sad, and Pam opened up to the group. Next week is the season finale and I can't wait.

So I can't pick which was best. These were definitely the four highlights (especially since I haven't watched this week's Doctor Who or new Trailer Park Boys yet).

Best Reading Material: I've been reading short stories lately in an attempt to get inspired to write my own. Right now I'm reading Jeremy Robert Johnson's Angel Dust Apocalypse and really enjoying it. Each story is pretty messed up and very entertaining. I just finished his short novel Extinction Journals and loved it. It's about a man who survives a nuclear holocaust thanks to the suit he made. He sewed living cockroaches all over it and they help him survive in the post-apocalyptic world. This is a continuation/sequel to a short story in ADA, where the cockroach suit wearer has a run-in with the President of the USA in the ruins of Washington. The President survived thanks to his suit made of Twinkies. Good, clever stuff.

Comics-wise, best of the week is a tie between Matt Fraction & Ed Brubaker's Immortal Iron Fist #5 and Warren Ellis' Thunderbolts #114. I tried out DC's new weekly series Countdown, and it was okay. I'll check it out for a few more weeks, but I don't foresee a longterm commitment being made. Oh well. If DC wants my money, they'll just put Grant Morrison in charge of things and make him write everything.

Best Music: Not much music-wise happening this week, although I did subject my girlfriend to the new Dio/Black Sabbath tunes. She didn't like them. I think she may have been born before her god made ears. Heh heh.

I've mainly just been putting my mp3 player on shuffle and playing Clutch while I work. Or occassionally Kiss. I dug out my old ZZ Top tunes for a refresher and, as it was the first time all those years ago, there were a few gems, but not much I really cared about.

Clutch's new cd From Beale Street To Oblivioun is pretty good, but lacking something I can't quite put my finger on.

The new NIN sucks pretty hard. Nice single. Rest of the cd sucks. If I'd never listened to anything on Mike Patton's Ipecac label then maybe this would have sounded fresh or exciting or edgy. Instead it just sounds weak and crappy.

Didn't care much for the new Bjork either.

I did just receive a couple of cds by J.G. Thirlwell's Manorexia project. It was a couple of weeks ago, but since this is my first entry, I'll include mention of them. They're really good, moody, instrumental pieces that make me feel like I'm in a creepy-weird film. More orchestral than his Steroid Maximus projects, and not really as fun, but still worth taking a listen to.