InsideHook – Michael's Musings

Here it is, another edition of my Weekly Roundup.

What I’m reading: Still on Dracula… Some distractions this week.

What I’m watching: Why Horror?, from Tal Zimerman, Rob Lindsay, and Nicolas Kleinman. An investigation into the popularity of horror films, looking at cultural references in America, Mexico, and Japan. Part of a research project I’m working on, and this had some nice tidbits – especially an incomplete history of horror. You can watch some extras on their YouTube channel.

What I’m listening to: Charlie by Mallrat. This is off the Driving Music EP, and for whatever reason, I cannot stop listening. It’s catchy, I like her voice, and the simple piano part sticks with me. Check it out.

What I’m spending time with: Marketing this notebook for actors. My friend and I had been working on this for a while. This is the first publication, but we have other projects we’re starting on now. So, that will be taking up a lot of my time in the coming weeks.

Other things of interest to me this week:

Visiting Disney World? For a little (lot) of extra money, you can have the exclusive experience…
Revisiting Austin Kleone’s Steal Like an Artist. Reading those first pages again, I’m reminded that an artist looks at the world to see what’s worth stealing. And then moves on to the next thing.

“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn.” – T.S. Eliot

A 30-year retrospective on Comedy Central, from Kirk Miller at InsideHook.
Disney+ launched, but not without some hiccups.

What I’m reading: Dungeons & Dragons and Philosophy by Robichaud and Irwin. Sometime last year I played D&D for the first time, though the campaign only lasted a few months. Some friends and I have been talking about getting back together on a weekly basis. Also being interested in Philosophy, this was an interesting find for me.

What I’m listening to: White noise. Lots and lots of white noise.

What I’m spending time with: Decluttering. Between selling things on eBay, throwing stuff out, and donated gently used items, it seems like I’ve gotten rid of so much and yet I still have too much. I’ve found that everything has a way of piling up. From the smallest receipt to the boxes that online orders come in from. I started with Marie Kondo’s book three years ago, and have waged a war in my house against excess stuff. It’s still anyone’s guess which of us will win.

Other things of interest:

HBO’s new series featuring the indomitable Helen Mirren as Catherine the Great. This article addresses the troubling effects of rumors, especially as they relate to women who take their sexual power seriously. A good read. Another over at The Daily Beast.
Star Wars Episode IX final trailer is out. Umm, I have thoughts. I’ll wait to see it, but I was underwhelmed by Episode VIII. I thought Force Awakens set up a good series, but then Last Jedi felt less like a part of the saga a more a one-off film featuring characters from the Episodes. So like I said, I’ll wait to see it.
Vulture’s Read Like the Wind – a new space for discovering books. I like books. They like books. It’s two for one.