Yeah, as the title "suggests", my commitment to weekly updating went right out the window rather quickly.
... Meh.
Anyway, I bought a new Bluetooth headset the other day, and the sheer unbridled joy and excitement I experienced from this purchase of something that most people avoid like the plague forced me to ask myself some hard questions.
The reason I own one is simple: my job requires me to spend a lot of time on my cell phone for necessary communication, keeping up with my staff, and the dreaded CONFERENCE CALLS. I spend a number of hours each week on the phone, so a bad Bluetooth earpiece that is not comfortable and doesn't have decent battery life and well-thought-out features would suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. So, I bought a new, high-grade one, and I am still thoroughly geeked-out over it.
So I was seriously self-examining for a bit, and then stopped doing that, and was awesome instead! (Thank you, NPH)
I will now list my various non-standard obsessions for your enjoyment and judgement:
My smartphone wallpaper theme:
I have purchased a lot of one-dollar wallpaper redesigns. Does my phone function better? No. Does it change anything except that the wallpaper looks like the inside of a clock, or Spider-Man? No. Will I most likely keep on buying and changing it? Yes.
The aforementioned Bluetooth devices:
I buy nothing but Jawbone devices now for my earpiece needs. I started with the Jawbone Icon a few years ago, went through two of those (they make them rather small and unobtrusive to keep a low profile, and DANG do I lose track of them easily) I upgraded to the Jawbone Era Shadowbox and bought two of those, and now the new Era by Jawbone is just on the market- even tinier, built-in case/battery charge pack, and is molded to fit the natural shape of an ear...
That's right. It's that tiny. And sounds amazing.
Superhero movies: I'm a dude. I like superheroes. I like movies. Do the math. Which leads me to:
Graphic novels: I have a weakness for graphic novels of many types. Marvel and DC superhero titles, hard-boiled crime fiction, supernatural thriller, modern myth, you name it. If it is well-written, I dig it. I have a couple of BIG shelving units in the Man-Cave filled up with trade paperback collections of my favorite titles, but have recently gone completely digital. Man, is that a space-saver! Also, reading graphic novels on an iPad with a good comic app and backlit... It's like they were meant to be read that way. Vibrant and rich color, and you can take years of story lines with you every where you go!!
My favorite collected titles:
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Y the Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn
Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughn
Fables by Bill Willingham
(These titles aren't for kids, but are some of most amazing literary achievements of our time. University courses are taught on the The Sandman series alone, which is a study of the nature of story and myth)
Mostly I follow certain authors; the art means nothing without real film-or-novel-level writing behind it. Sometimes you can forgive shoddy art for great writing, though; case in point, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Terrible, terrible art, but what a story!)
Strangely enough, even in this vast city with some pretty successful comic book/collector shops, I have no friends who share this affinity with me, and therefore no one to discuss the graphic novel medium with! I will occasionally meet someone who says "Oh yeah, I love comics!", and so I start talking Marvel vs DC and how you don't really have to choose, and they blank out completely. And then, I realize that I was misled- they had at one time read ONE graphic novel series that a friend recommended, but are not a true aficionado of the medium, and are now looking at me like I am a freak.
Bad Sci-Fi:
I have a weakness for what could be considered Empirically Bad Television, as long as there is a science fiction swing to it. I have seriously slogged through every aired episode of every Stargate TV series, Farscape, Andromeda, Defiance, the Cape (R.I.P.), all available Star Treks, and numerous other televised abominations that I have no excuse for.
Music and Movie Minutia:
About 90% percent of my brain, apparently (a friend made this well-informed guesstimate a while back after a discussion of Star Wars theory).
I... think that is enough freakishness for one sitting.
Until Next time,
Jerek
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