New Bloggy Update! 1/30/24

Greetings from this side of January! As we quickly roll through the first month of ’24, I’ve been working hard on lining up the first few events for the year. A brand new one has cropped up – St. Pat’s Market in Kankakee on March 17th. As the date gets closer, check the Events section in the blog for specifics. A second one that’s “in the official lineup” now is the First Sunday Midwest Bazaar in the Orr Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on December 1st. Not scheduled, but ever present on my mind is Steampunk (June 7, 8, and 9) and the Wheaton Haunted Flea (the last Saturday in October). Keep an eyeball peeled for more and come see me!

As for writing, I’ve been working on book reviews for another blog (Uncomfortably Dark run by Candace Nola, a horror writer/creator). I’ve written three so far, but plan on contributing throughout the year. I’ve also written an article (opinion piece) which will be available in February sometime for ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors, of which I’m a member). I’ll post a link when it comes out.

It’s not yet time to dive into Draft #2 of In a Corner Darkly, Volume 3…yet. I’m loosely planning on starting back up in March. I’ve been a bit derailed over the past week and a half, dealing with some back pain that’s been rather excruciating (especially in the morning). An X-Ray showed that I have degenerative lumbar disc disease (osteoarthritis). It’s a jarring wake up call as I’m a runner and lift weights on the regular. BUT, I’ve been told that age and simple wear and tear can cause this. It’s, so far, nothing “overly weird”. I’m going to start P.T. soon and am currently taking steroids (limited run), so – probably too much information, but if anyone has gone through this, you’re not alone. I get it.

So, what the heck have we been watching?

Mississippi Burning (1988) – When a group of civil rights workers goes missing in a small Mississippi town, FBI agents Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) and Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) are sent in to investigate. Local authorities refuse to cooperate with them, and the African American community is afraid to, precipitating a clash between the two agents over strategy. As the situation becomes more volatile, the direct approach is abandoned in favor of more aggressive, hard-line tactics. (Google) This was actual a re-watch as I’ve seen this film a few times before. Simply put, this is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. I love it. The acting and the subject matter are so intense and spot on, this is like a Master Class in acting and film-making. I gave it a 9.5 and Charlie gave it a 9.6.

Death Rides a Horse (1967) – Having witnessed the brutal murder of his entire family by bandits at the age of 5, Bill Meceita (John Phillip Law) has spent 15 years planning his vengeance. Finding a kindred spirit in Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), an experienced gunslinger seeking his own revenge on those who framed him, the two team up to find and kill Walcott (Luigi Pistilli), a fearsome bandit on the loose. But Bill soon discovers that Ryan may know more about his tragic past than he has let on. (Google) Total transparency – I was kind of zonked out on the couch during most of this, but I was conscious enough to give it a score (lol). This is the kind of spaghetti western that’s all about the cliches and the old-school dramatics. It’s not my bag AT ALL, but Charlie digs these and I was there along for the ride.

Master Gardener (2022) – A meticulous horticulturist is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate that a wealthy dowager owns. When he’s told to take on her troubled great-niece as an apprentice, his life is thrown into chaos and dark secrets from his past emerge (Google). This was one of those movies where you enjoy it as its playing, but as soon as it’s over, it’s kind of forgotten. I liked it well enough, but honestly, nothing about it stayed with me. Even looking it up didn’t awaken anything special about it. I ended up giving it a 6.3.

Sick of Myself (2022) – Signe and Thomas are in an unhealthy, competitive relationship, which takes an evil turn when Thomas suddenly breaks through as a contemporary artist. Signe makes an effort to regain her status by creating a person who can attract sympathy. (Google) I can’t say I “enjoyed” this, but it was sort of like driving slowly past a highway accident – you couldn’t look away even though it was a horrible sight (lol). There’s a bit of body horror, but nothing that would be considered extreme. None of the main characters are likable, but at least the side players call them on it throughout the movie. I’d be hard pressed to recommend this as it’s a ‘hard sell’, but Charlie gave it a 7.3. You might find some good if you look hard enough.

Sebastian Fitzek’s Therapy (short series – 2023) – Josy, the 13-year-old daughter of the well-known psychiatrist Viktor Larenz, disappears under unexplained circumstances. Two years later, a mysterious woman turns up, forcing him to deal with the disappearance. (Google) Based on a book of the same title, this limited series was good…but a very difficult watch, and by difficult, I mean puzzling and confusing. You can’t scroll on your phone or look away from the screen or you’ll miss something. You need to be 100% invested in every bit of minutia to fully grasp the entirety of the story. Much of the time is spent bouncing back and forth out of sequence which makes any type of linear stab at following almost impossible. I understand and acknowledge that sometimes that style of storytelling can work, but in this case, it made it more complicated than it had to be. I gave it a 6.0 and Charlie came in at 6.4. Might be better to read the book for this one.

Alright, that’s a wrap for now. I’m going to throw in a reminder about sending me folks who would like to be on the blog – authors, music folks, or artists. Have them shoot me an email at srovens@yahoo.com. All are welcome.