Back on track...

So, I would like to say I have a very good excuse for not blogging on Friday. The story I would tell you would inspire you. You would laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time, and at the end of it all, your life would gain a new perspective. It wouldn't be life altering, but it would supplement you, not necessarily making you better than before, but somehow more. You would have no recourse but to understand and forgive.

The truth is, I am lazy and had a big day of playing around on Friday and decided I would duck all responsibility. This included the blog. So, to those of you who actually were looking forward to it for some strange reason, all I can say is sorry. I am a schmuck. Chances are good that you already know this.

Let's start off with a Coraline review. Simple enough. You must see this movie, and you must see it in 3-D. Henry Selick has woven a visual masterpiece around the bare bones of Neil Gaiman's slightly askew young adult novel of the same name, and the result is a genre-bending, contemporary, artistic film. Selick has cemented himself as the modern master of stop-motion animation and, more importantly, has proven once again that there is a place in present-day film for the antiquated technique. It was almost a clinic in the form, like a more accessable, mainstream Brothers Quay film. It managed to be legitimately terrifying at places while retaining the chram and adventure that marks it as a children's story. In short, the movie captured all the neccessary emotions to truthfully depict a girl growing up and discovering the world around her. While there are significant differences to Gaiman's novel, I think the fact that it encompasses this last aspect so fully, there can be no doubt that the heart of the story shines through in the film adaptation. I would love to go into more detail, but I want to leave it to you to see and discover, so no spoilers here as of yet. Maybe we can discuss specifics after it has been out a couple weeks. Suffice it to say, I will definitely see it again. Let me know if you want to go.

I may leave this as a larger topic for Friday's blog, but I want to briefly mention that the Doctor Who Series 4 finale was broadcast on BBC America last night. Wow. I am obsessed with the Doctor and was not disappointed by the end of Tennant's regular series run. He has taken the Doctor in a very Sherlock Holmesian, manic, cocky, darkly troubled direction, and (I think) will be remembered as the essential Doctor when (if) the series is finally laid to rest. This final episode once again strips the happy-go-lucky facade of the rouge time-lord away to reveal a man (Gallifreyan or otherwise) haunted by the decsions he has had to make. The Doctor is often seen as difficult to relate to (which is the reason companions like Donna or Sarah Jane Smith are so neccessary), but it is at the moments when he is rendered absolutely alone that we see the very human vulnerability in his character peek its ugly head out. We are reminded why we care for him. This last episode did that as well as I have ever seen it done. Hopefully Matt Smith is as stellar as the reports of his readings suggest. He has some big red trainers to fill.

In my own news, I have recieved a couple of last minute critiques from some very trusted people on Ranchero. In light of some of the advice given, I have decided that an additional edit is going to be neccessary before submissions can begin. I still want to have 12 submissions out by the end of this month and will thusly be dedicating a lot of time in the next week to revising and adding to the current manuscript. I remain terrified by the proccess and I can only hope to learn enough from this first time round that next time, it is a little less daunting. We shall see. Wish me luck.

I have succomb to the pressure of my geekery and picked up the Batman: Last Rites arc in preperation for the upcoming What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader arc. Wil Wheaton has already read it, and as such both holds a place of reverence and contempt in the temple of my fanboydom. I also picked up the first volume of the Scott Pilgrim series, so all my nerdy friends can stop feeling sorry for me and welcome me with open arms back into the fold of those who know what's up.

My coffee is gone and I have a hot girl waiting to take me out to a tapas bar, so I think I will cut it off here. See you all on Friday. Leave me a comment with something good to talk about. I could use the direction.