Oh no, it's a new year again already
At the end of my last blog entry, I said I was looking forward to some time off over summer. That's funny.
I think I'm currently the busiest I've been in a long time, and what's worse is that's how I've scheduled myself for the rest of the year, basically. I'm currently working on a film studies article that I hope to have drafted by the end of February, but it's been a little bit exhausting to be honest. I'm working on that in the mornings before I go to my new job 2 evenings a week (that's my new Big Media job, which has been good, if a little bit stressful). Two other days a week I'm in the office at my other job (where I'm typing this right now!), and then weekends and one other weekday I have "free" - to clean, work in the garden, and attempt to chill the fuck out.
Speaking of Big Media job, I've felt a bit out of place so far - not excessively, but I guess I'm worried about doing a good job and not understanding everything straight away, which I realise is stupid. I think it's pretty normal when starting out at a new place, but I'm also nervous about being liked and sociable enough (not something I'm very good at). Well, that's enough complaining... about work.
Last time I also talked about my SLR camera getting repaired, which has been done, but I think I mismatched my ISO or didn't load the film correctly or something, because my last two rolls of film came out totally screwed. Underexposed, overexposed, mostly completely black or grey. Not sure exactly what's going on there, so I'm going to try shooting another roll with closer attention, and we'll see how we go.
I've also recently acquired a Canon Autoboy S Panorama, which I was a little cautious about, but it's been excellent so far! It has built in captions and dates to select, and obviously less functionality than my SLR, but still has a zoom and various preset modes.
My favourite photo from my initial test roll of film, shot on my new (old) Canon!
I don't really consider myself someone who is "into" photography, but the more photos I take, the more I want to learn. I'm thinking about looking into some workshops or photography how-to books or something, but I feel that a lot of advice is given as 'rules', while photography is an art form, and thus more subjective... but maybe I should learn some 'rules' before I break them!
MUSICAL MOMENT
I've been reading along with the Mountain Goats book club. If you're not in the loop: John Darnielle, singer/songwriter of the Mountain Goats, released a book last year that compiles lyrics to various songs, along with his commentary about those lyrics, his inspiration, and his songwriting process. I've really been enjoying it so far, but it means that I haven't really been listening to the Mountain Goats otherwise, because I know I have guaranteed Goat time before bed.
Aside from that, I've basically been exclusively listening to the album 'The Age of Plastic' by The Buggles (which includes the hit Video Killed the Radio Star). It's a great album, but I did listen to it back-to-back for a week or two, so I should probably give it a rest.
My new speakers haven't gotten as much use out of them as I would like, probably because I've barely had time to lay in bed with nothing to do except listen to music. Maybe this weekend I'll give myself some more music appreciation time.
FILM & TELEVISION
Oof, pretty slim pickings here I'm afraid. We're still working our way through Twin Peaks at home, but we've slowed to a snail's pace given that we've reached the part of the show where neither David Lynch nor Mark Frost are involved. Apparently they return for the final episodes of season 2, but at the moment, the magic is totally gone. I'd love to analyse that in more depth, if I ever have time, but I'm sure many others have already flogged that horse.
We're also currently watching Sweet Home, a Korean sci-fi/apocalypse drama, which is quite good! The acting, cinematography, and plot are all well-executed and interesting, although the pacing can be a little iffy.
Movie-wise, I recently watched Werner Herzog's Heart of Glass (1976) for the first time, which was wonderful and strange, but a bit of a hard sell. I also rewatched Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984), which was even better than I remembered and made me cry like a little baby.
I've not made any progress on my Georges Melies filmography watch-through. Ah well.
Shamelessly plugging my own Letterboxd.
LITERATURE CORNER
Recently, I finished a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel (Devil in the Sky from 1995), which was basically like reading a slightly more sexist DS9 episode. It was fine, but not that good, and didn't really add anything to my experience of the show or the characters. But there were Hortas in it, so that was cool! They're one of my favourite Trek races, and they don't get enough love.
I've also been reading a set of short stories by Anton Chekhov - 'A Nervous Breakdown'. I've read Chekhov before and been impressed, but these ones (although there's obvious literary talent) have been a bit of a miss for me. Women are never full people as characters, and the male ego is huge. I've got to read a book by a woman next, I feel like I'm dying.
You can follow me on StoryGraph here, by the way!
What else? Sadly, I haven't made any further progress on Castlevania (mostly because I've been, as stated, super duper busy). I really haven't been doing much else with my time than working, working, working, gardening, cleaning, and watching TV...
Hoping to hang out with some friends soon, and maybe go out to dinner or watch a movie. I'm exhausted.
That's all I have to say, I think. Bye!