Book Clubs (Vellum and Ink)Vellum ended yesterday! Not sure if anyone was reading besides me, but I don't care at all! I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF READING THIS BOOK. I feel like I have gotten to a much better place, in terms of headspace, than where I was the last time I read the book (which was during my second year of teaching). The characters--in all their variations--and the magnificent quality of the wordplay just swept me right up, and I couldn't wait to get back to it each time I had to put it down. February starts the reading of Ink, the sequel to Vellum (or rather, the other half of Vellum...), but I am starting the month by reading Errata, the set of four short stories that goes roughly between the two books. It's not too late to jump in and enjoy the majestic surreality of the Vellum/Ink combo! Comics Club (Ex Machina)So, we have three months (Jan/Feb/Mar) to read Vaughan and Harris' EX MACHINA series. Confession: I read the whole thing (all 50 issues and 4 specials) in teh first half of January. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Basically, I really, really, really want to talk to someone about this one. If you have read it, or can get it read sometime between now and the end of March, hit me up. Please. I have to know how you feel... because I am still, a decade later, trying to figure out how I feel. It is an amazing piece of work, and very much recommend it... especially if you were old enough to be semi-politically aware between 2000 and 2008. Game Clubs (Battlestar Galactica and Spiralchain)The January Spiralchain event was postponed (and still is--we are waiting on some more game components to be completed) and I will make a big noise as soon as we know when it is happening! In the meantime, there's another attempt at getting a Battlestar Galactica game going on February 10th, and you should come. It remains one of my favorite games of all time, and I promise, that if you play it, you will love it. We do RSVPs for board game events, so hit the Board Game Club page to get your seat saved! Movie Clubs (Call Me By Your Name and OSCARS)The Call Me By Your Name club was a huge success--thanks so much to Kim, Suvada, and Tricia for coming! I loved sharing that movie, with its sweetness, its bittersweetness, and its infamous peach. For this month, there is no Movie Club because I prefer, instead, of everyone sees some Oscar-Nominated Best Picture films before the big show at the end of February! TV Clubs (Babylon 5)According to the timeline, you should be half way through B5 season 1 right now. I am through Season 1 and gearing up for Season 2. B5 thoughts and discussions will be happening semi-regularly on Facebook starting this coming week, so if you want to chat about the magnificence of it all, that's the place.
On this view-through, I have finally forgiven some of Sinclair's over-acting that has gnawed at me for years. It feels nice to get past it, honestly. The parts I love I still love, but the parts I didn't like have become charming instead of maddening. Yay!
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Book Clubs (Animal Farm and Vellum)Animal Farm has come and gone. For those of you who were reading along, I hope that you found your time in Orwell's elegant and terrifying parable insightful. I haven't read the book since I last taught it in summer school something like 8 years ago, so I was STOKED to be back on the Manor Farm for two months. It was as good as I remember, and it remains an accessible and vivid masterpiece. December 1 we started reading Hal Duncan's esoteric masterwork VELLUM. I am at the midpoint of the book right now, which is right where we are supposed to be for an end-of-January completion target. Not sure if anyone is reading with me or not, so I am not yet sure if there will be a face-to-face book club chat at the end. If there is, I'll add the details to the Book Club page ASAP. I did speak with the author today, and he confirmed that the best place to read ERRATA, a collection of four Vellum-adjacent short stories, is in between Vellum and Ink. Since Ink is our NEXT book club title, that means if you have and wish to read Errata, you'll want to try and wrap Vellum a bit early to make room for it. I think I'll be doing that! Comics Clubs (New Warriors and Ex Machina)I finished the New Warriors Volume 1 1-26 read right on time, and man... that book is still so much fun. Practically perfect in every way, there is no greater rosetta stone to understanding who I am and what I am all about that the stories of that wonderful team. I regret not keeping going to finish out Volume 1... but there's always next year! The reading of Ex Machina (all 50 issues and all 4 specials) is starting TODAY, and I powered through the first 12 issues or so. This book is SO DANG AWESOME. Very much a product of it zeitgeist, I love its raw assault on the political establishment while also unveiling a series of progressively flawed characters that I still root for... something Vaughan has made a hell of a habit of doing over his career. We have through the end of March on this read, so I am tracking to finish quite early. If you read them, I'd love to chat about it! Game Clubs (Battlestar Galactica and Spiralchain)So, the December game club didn't happen. Again. Sigh. The January club was to be a playtesting of the Spiralchain Board Game, but I am going to delay/postpone that event. The game is getting some graphic design upgrades from Andrew right now, and I don't want to play it again until we have those components in hand. So stay tuned. Movie Clubs (Whiplash and Call Me By Your Name)Whiplash club didn't happen (no RSVPs). So our trial run of Wednesday night movie clubs is not doing so well... BUT! There are already two RSVPs for Call Me By Your Name, and I am going to harass more of you to come! Wednesday, January 16th at 7:30 in Ankeny. It's an amazing movie, and I hope you will come watch with us! I'll make a cocktail! TV Clubs (Gargoyles and Babylon 5)Gargoyles wrapped up this past week, and MAN, IS THAT SHOW STILL AMAZING. I can't recommend it highly enough. As soon as I finished Hunter's Moon, I immediately scooped up my 'Clan-Building' graphic novels and read those... and then 'Bad Guys'... but now the stories of the Gargoyles are done again. It's sad... but I am so happy I took this time to check back in with the Manhattan Clan. Tomorrow, the Babylon 5 watch starts. I'll be watching the original broadcast version of the pilot movie (The Gathering) for the first time (I have only ever watched the Special Edition, and even though I know it is the author's preferred edition, I want to see the other one just once!). We will be watching B5 for the rest of BD365... so it's never too late to start. I hope you will join me, because it is, without question, the greatest TV show in the history of ever (to me). The StinkersYou'll probably notice that Dinner Club and Theatre Club didn't get a recap. They are sort of dead-on-arrival right now. And the Badges are looking close to joining them. As I transition my mindset to being more about enjoying the universe and sharing my enjoyment with others, I am moving away from some of the artificial incentivizing stuff that was baked into the BD365 concept at the beginning.
Simpler is better, you see. And simply put... I want to live my life, not spend all of my time cataloging the ways in which people did or did not engage in that process with me. Hopefully you will still take part in the various events of the festivities... not for a badge or for a special award... but because it's fun to do so. So... I'll see you all around... and hopefully, I'll see you all SOON. First... Pressing Stuff!The Animal Farm Book Club discussion will be at The Whiskey House in Ankeny on Friday, November 30th! I will be there by 6:30, convo to start at 7:00. A band starts playing at 9, so that will be our cut off for good conversation (but not for drinks and casual chatting!). Please RSVP to me via phone, text, e-mail, or FB by noon on the 30th so I can grab the right sized space. People participating in TV Club: Gargoyles should be closing in on the halfway mark through Season 2 right now. I am behind that--I just finished City of Stone. SO GOOD. SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD. Get to the end and want to chat? Hit me up! People participating in Comic Club: New Warriors should be cruising towards issue 26 (deadline for that is end of December). I'm through issue 7, so I am definitely behind. Get to the end and want to chat? Hit me up! The next Board Game Club is BATTLESTAR GALACTICA on December 2nd at 1:30. You should come! There's a link to RSVP on the Board Game Club page! IT IS AMAZING. Oh, and let's award a badge... Jawa Badge Alert: Huge thanks to Kelly and Michael for coming to Dinner Club: Django on November 20th! I forgot to get a picture!
The ForumThe Forum never worked out. It had almost 50 posts, but they were all from me, so... the Forum is dead. I have adjusted the Badges and other pages to eliminate references to the Forum, but I may have missed some. I know that this hampers the participative ability of the non-local folks, but in 55 days... I am the only voice in that room, and that just wasn't doing any of us any good. So instead, anything that you might have done on the Forum, you can now do on social media or in my inbox! Drop me a line, a letter, a text, a chat, a call, or a face-to-face meeting and we can talk about ANYTHING! EVERYTHING! Boom. Done. And better. Movie ClubsLosing the Forum was a little sad... but this one here is mega super ultra rough. Movie Clubs have not been going well. Princess Bride had one attendee, and Love, Simon (and y'all know how much Simon means to me) had zero attendees. So... we are reformatting. Fridays are rough, I get that. Instead, I am moving the next two clubs (Whiplash in December and Call Me By Your Name in January) to Wednesday nights. If they get the same general reception, I'll fold the movie clubs up and cancel the rest. It's life. Daily UpdatesNo more daily updates. I am going to try for an update after each Club event and for at least a weekly update either way. We'll see how we do! That's it for changes so far. BD365 is an ever-evolving monstrosity... and I thank you for taking part in it!
So, it’s been a while. Not sure if daily updates will ever be a thing again, but I’ll keep trying! CONTINUING STUFF: Are you watching Gargoyles? I’m almost to the end of Season 1. When I get there, I’ll let you know, and anyone who wants to have a Gargoyles chat (with food? With a drink? While taking a walk?) will just have to hit me up! Same goes for those of you reading New Warriors... though I a only through issue 7 right now. We won’t be able to chat about this one until the end of the comic book club, so... keep it up! And, of course, Animal Farm is getting closer to the big discussion event at the end of the month. How is your reading coming? I’m behind... PREPARATION: Check out the Hy-Vee Beer, Wine, and Food Expo this weekend (I’ll be there Friday night if you want a Jawa Badge...). We’ll be going to an Iowa Wild game on the 14th! And The RSVPs are still open for the Love, Simon movie event on the 16th. I think I have the drink for that party figured out... Reflection: Day 32 [November 3]It was garage cleaning day! We purged a ton of stuff from our garage, which resulted in some donations, some garbage, and a giant pile of things I now need to list on eBay. The best part was getting to spend the day with Tom as we walked through boxes and bags and totes of memories... and plotted what our next steps and our future might look like. It’s all part of the master plan to build an addition on to the house... but to do that, we need to reduce our stuff. Yes, that seems counter-intuitive. Just roll with it, it makes sense to us! NANOWRIMO Update: Total words up to 2586 Reflection: Day 33 [November 4]
Reflection: Day 34 [November 5]This was a Monday. It had work! It had projects! It had a copious amount of planning for Thanksgiving! Pomegranate Stuffing, yo. Reflection: Day 35 [November 6] So, this was Election Day. I worked a long day, then we walked down to vote. The results of the night were mixed, nationally and especially locally, but I am glad to see so much engagement in the process. I want everyone’s voice to be heard... even when I don’t like what their voices say. I believe the way forward exists, and I believe that people will come together and take care of one another in time. Politics doesn’t change those beliefs... but sometimes I have to make myself remember that. Also note that NANOWRIMO has not been happening properly for most of these reflections. It’s a problem. I’m working on it. Reflection: Day 36 [November 7]I vacuumed up a bunch of leaves from our back yard! To reward us (Tom did this a few days ago as well), we went out for dinner to the Whiskey House, which I have mentioned before as being a place that I love. It’s Old Fashioned Week... and i have definitively learned that I like Old Fashioneds better than I like Manhattans. Now we know! :)
I also started a strange project last night called “No More Clothes on the Floor” and I will let you know how that goes. It doesn’t SOUND like a hard thing to do, but... yeah. It is. For me, anyway. And I watched some Gargoyles while I was folding clothes. The Edge is a GREAT episode. I forget how much I like what Matt adds to the show... and teh Red Steel Clan Robot (no spoilers) is one of my favorite things in all of Gargoyles. What can I say... I loves me the bad guys. Today is the BEST DAY EVER to RSVP for tomorrow’s Arkham Horror board game event in Ankeny! November 4th! My house! 1:30 pm! Come play an amazing game of mystery and madness! CONTINUING STUFF: Gargoyles. New Warriors. Animal Farm. Heck, go post about them on the FORUM, while it still exists! (What’s that? Stay tuned for an announcement about the Forum...) Not a Club: I get to organize and purge the garage today! That means I may be adding some stuff to eBay in the near future! PREPARATION: Arkham Horror Board Game Club TOMORROW. There’s still room, but you better act now! There’s an election on the 6th in America, so if you haven’t voted yet, DO THAT ON TUESDAY. There’s also an EXTRA CLUB opportunity... Hy-Vee Beer, Wine, and Food Expo on Friday night, November 9th! And an Iowa Wild Game EXTRA CLUB on the 14th! AND THE LOVE, SIMON MOVIE CLUB ON THE 16TH THAT YOU SIMPLY MUST COME TO! That’s a lot of stuff... I should update the calendar! Reflection: Day 30 [November 1]Confession: I am NOT half-way through Animal Farm. I’m actually a bit behind on a lot of things. But I did have a great night of training at work (I take joy in odd places, leave me alone)! Then, when I got home, I got to see Jeremy open his new-to-him Hero Quest game... always a delight. And after that, we played Brave New World. It was just a little introductory adventure to get the party together and to test out the mechanics, but it was SO MUCH FUN. I can’t wait for the next game! NANOWRIMO: I wrote about 600 words in Next Alliance 4! Reflection: Day 31 [November 2]
Reflection: Day 29Yesterday, I worked hard to get caught up on a bunch of projects that have to do with my author life. It was a great chance to spread the word about my novels, to work with my many creative partners, and to get the ball rolling on some future stuff that will be announced soon!
It was a good day! Reflection: Day 26 [October 28]
Reflection: Day 27 [October 29]
Reflection: Day 28 [October 30]
Late posts are becoming a thing. I'll do better this week! CONTINUING STUFF: Watch Gargoyles! Read New Warriors and Animal Farm! Not a Club: Today is the drive back form St. Louis and then watching the WWE Evolution event with Andrew. I'm a super casual watcher of wrestling, but it's a nice diversion from time to time! PREPARATION: Board game is coming up SOON--get your RSVP in before game day (November 4) to reserve a seat in our epic quest to prevent the end of the world from the elder gods. Also, RSVPs are open for Love, Simon on the 16th. Come watch it with me. A good time is guaranteed. Reflection: Day 25
Reflection: Day 24Yesterday was some work, some travel, and some sleep. Not much special to say... other than that I finally heard the Baby Shark song that has been sweeping the lives of people with young children lately. And you know what? I LOVE IT!
That is all. More excitement to report in tomorrow’s reflection! CONTINUING STUFF: Gargoyles. New Warriors. And you really, really should be working on Animal Farm! PREPARATION: Trivia in St. Louis tomorrow! Board game on Nov 4 (RSVPs are flowing in, act now!) Love, Simon on November 16th. Reflection: Day 23
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AuthorJeremiah L Schwennen (Jeremy) is the curator of this bizarre experience. If you don't know him, you probably won't enjoy this very much... Archives
February 2019
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