The P@rix: spare change

Showing posts with label spare change. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Spare change 2025

End of the year always means SO many blog posts!

Anyway, time for the adding up of the spare change found over the course of the year.

117 pennies (which, so sad they're not making those anymore.)

20 nickels

49 dimes

14 quarters

Grand total, $11.17

Sunday, December 31, 2023

2023's spare change

Dang! 2023 was a good year for finding money on the ground. (Highest total to date. I've been keeping track of these since 2015.)

$8.18

(108 pennies, 13 nickels, 17 dimes, 15 quarters, 1 dollar bill, and 1 Chuck E. Cheese token)

Monday, January 02, 2023

2022 change!!

Forgot to count and post this yesterday.

The spare change I found over the couse of the year... $3.72.

That's a dollar and one cent less than last year. Huh.

Monday, January 03, 2022

we could all use a little change

Almost forgot about the spare change found in 2021.

$4.73

Not a bad haul. Way better than 2020...

Broke down this way:

1.50 in quarters

1.90 in dimes

.30 in nickels

1.03 in pennies

Bring on 2022!

Sunday, December 31, 2017

2017 books, movies, and change

So, another year is finishing up, and that means it's time for me to copy & paste the lists of media (well, books and movies, at least) I've been maintaining throughout the past 365 days. And it's time to see how much spare change I've picked up along the way, too.

As always with the books, after my thoughts/review, I'll type up the final sentence, which will be in parentheses and will be spoiler tagged, except for the final word. (And if the last sentence of the book was only one word, that will be tagged.)

This is gonna be a long entry, so may as well get started...

Books read in 2017:

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai - started off really really good. Funny, whimsical, melancholy, sci-fi fun. It was about time travel, and how in Tom’s timeline, the Jetsons basically became reality after 1965. Teleporting, robot maids, peace on earth, no pollution, all the shiny future type things that they imagined it would be, all of those exist in Tom’s 2016. Tom’s dad is a brilliant scientist, and creates a time machine. Tom goes back in time, to 1965, but ends up changing the timeline *just barely*, and it results in OUR current situation. Tom winds up in our 2016, and there are different versions of his parents, as well as sister he didn’t have in the other time line, and everyone thinks of him as John. It’s a little bit complicated, but it makes a bit of sense in-novel. Tom/John has to choose between this new dystopian society and the old utopian one that he was used to (not to mention the fact that his tinkering with the timeline ‘uncreated’ millions of lives.) Chapters 91 and 92 were pretty amazing, and in my mind I was going to give it a 5 star rating on goodreads at that point. …And then chapter 93 happened, and I very nearly didn’t finish the book. There was a VERY drastic turn at this point, and while it was semi-explained/cleared up…it really did sour the book for me. And then reading other reviews that pointed out some of the negative aspects… yeah. Pity, really, because it had a lot of great potential, and I enjoyed a lot of the book, but, well having your main character commit sexual assault/rape is gonna make things a bit less pleasant, ya know? (All along it was you.)
Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – Steph recommended I read this, and I’m so glad she did. All about a secret society dedicated to reading ancient books trying to find hidden messages. Great characters, and just a fun read all around. (A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right book exactly, at exactly the right time.)
Paper Girls vol. 1 by Robert K. Vaughn – Graphic novel by one of my favorite graphic novel writers. This is about four twelve year old girls in 1988 going about their paper routes on the night after Halloween. And then all sorts of weird shit happens – time travel, pterodactyl invasions, mass abductions. Volume 1 has a LOT going on, and it’s a bit early to tell if it’ll all pay off, but I’m intrigued enough, and Vaughn has built up enough of a good reputation with me, that I’ll continue on with the series for a bit. (My name is Erin Tieng.)
Paper Girls vol. 2 by Robert K. Vauhgn – even better than volume 1. The characters are growing, the plot is still crazy as all get out, but starting to make more sense and future seeds were planted, and there was a lot more humor. I’m not sure exactly how long it can be sustained, but as long as it isn’t dragged out for too long, I’m on board. (We’re alive.)
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong – Took a little while to get into, and most of the characters weren’t developed enough for me to care about, but this was still overall pretty fun. (Mission accomplished.)
Saga vol. 7 by Robert K. Vaughn – I think….I might be falling out of love with Saga. The depressing ending didn’t impact me the way it was intended. I had predicted a bad ending for that particular storyline, and was correct in my prediction, although I was wrong in the timeframe. It happened a lot sooner than I thought it would. But, I just didn’t care. And the other storylines/characters have largely lost their appeal, too. Maybe there’s just too much time between volumes. Perhaps if I read them all together… Anyway, I’ll stick with the series for a little while longer. Could just be a slump. (One moment, the universe presents you with this amazing opportunity for new possibilities… … and then…)
Bedbugs by Ben H Winters – short creepy little novel about a family that moves into a new apartment in New York, which might just have a supernatural bedbug infestation. Quick read, and pretty enjoyable. (Every morning, when she woke, she lay in bed for a long time, until she felt ready to check her pillowcase.)
Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar – this novella was good, but it was MUCH too short. There was definitely more there to be unpacked. I felt like things were teased that didn’t have payoff. (The black button; Farris’ hat; selling the coins) – And what is up with RF being… not malicious? Sure, he was creepy, but his overall plan was to… test a young girl? That’s not in character with how King has had this character act previously. Like I said, I greatly enjoyed the two hours or so that it took to read this, I just wanted there to be MORE to it. (Then she laughs and puts it in her pocket.)
Morning Glories vol 1: For a Better Future by Nick Spencer – Graphic novel series that basically poses the question – what if Hogwarts existed, but were EVIL. (well, sort of. It’s basically a private school with a lot of hints of supernatural weirdness going on. And murder. And time travel, maybe?) This being the first volume, it was just a lot of setup. Will it payoff? I dunno, but so far I’m intrigued enough to find out. (Call me Jade.)
Morning Glories vol 2: All Will Be Free by Nick Spencer – This was a better volume – each issue delved into the pasts of the 6 main students, and made you care about them (and their mysteries) more. The series overall has a very Lost feel to it, which makes me somewhat leery, since that didn’t pan out as well as it should have, but we’ll see. Like I said, so far, I’m game. (What if I told you I could bring them back?)
Nailbiter vol 1: There Will Be Blood by Joshua Williamson – another graphic novel series. This one is about the town of Buckaroo, Oregon that has been the birthplace of 16 serial killers over the past 40 years. Why are so many people born here growing up to become murderers? The sheriff (Crane) and an NSA agent (Finch) [what’s with the bird names?] must work together to figure that out, all the while dealing with the townspeople, as well as a possible new killer among them. Some of the twists were predictable, and sometimes the pacing is weird, but very interesting start. (If I were a serial killer, who would I kill next?)
Nailbiter vol 2: Bloody Hands by Joshua Williamson – the pacing is still off, and we’re getting far more questions thrown at us than answers, but I still like Finch and Crane’s characters enough to stick with the series. I almost wish this was a tv show or a novel, though. Sometimes things (especially in this collection) would be really intriguing, and they’d drop it when I wished they’d delve deeper. (A midnight snack has always helped me sleep.)
Morning Glories vol 3: P.E. by Nick Spencer – A little bit of a letdown after volume 2 – it’s feeling like they’re throwing more and more stuff at the wall to see what sticks. It’s still entertaining/intriguing, but I’m feeling like tying it ALL together to make sense is becoming increasingly unlikely. The bigger your ball of wax, the harder it is to make it all tie together. (Hello, Hunter -- looks like I finally caught up to you.)
Morning Glories vol 4: Truants by Nick Spencer – Okay, things are a little bit clearer, but …not really much? There’s a vague sense of where the overall story may be going – but I expect that it probably won’t turn out that way. Anyway. Whole bunch of new characters thrown at us this go around, and one of the original six may be dead-dead. (Hard to know if characters actually stay dead in series such as this.) And a sort of retcon with Ike’s character took place here – still a pompous ass, but with maybe a heart of gold. Or aluminum, maybe. Anyway. Decent volume, we’ll see what happens. (Not you.)
The Walking Dead vol 27 The Whisperer War by Robert Kirkman – tra la la. Too many subplots, too many characters to keep track of, and difficult to care about all of them. Plots I’m curious about still: the radio conversation, Negan (somewhat), Rick’s “old man” comment, Carl and his relationship with Alpha’s daughter. Plots I could care less about: everything else. (Our war is over… let the dead finish what we have started.)
Chew vol 12 Sour Grapes by John Layman – So, Chew is over. And…the ending was a letdown. I think maybe the series went on too long, or … I don’t know. There was a LOT of exposition to explain everything in this final volume, which I appreciate having them wrap things up, but … I don’t know. It felt sort of like, what was the point? The series, I think, maybe felt like it had to keep topping itself with weirdness, and at a point just got a little tiresome, and it was hard to still care about the characters. There were some deaths in this volume that *should* have impacted me, but …didn’t. And that ending … really? THAT is how things are gonna go out? Sigh. So disappointing overall. The series artwork was FANTASTIC, and the humor, when it was on, was SPOT. ON. Just a bummer that they didn’t stick the landing. :( Oh well. (Shunk!)
Nailbiter vol 3 Blood in the Water by Joshua Williamson – hm. I have a feeling I’m going to stick with this thru thick and thin. I just hope I’m not disappointed. I THINK it’ll be fine, so long as it doesn’t get dragged on too long. I’m really hoping that the way this volume ended means that some answers will be coming very soon. Guess I’ll find out when I read volume 4. (But can you tell me what happened to my arms and legs?)
Nailbiter vol 4 Blood Lust by Joshua Williamson – Characters in this series flip flop a lot. Meaning people who you hate and think you’ve got figured out are given backstories that suddenly make them more sympathetic. And protagonists go and say or do something that causes you to despise them. Is that because the writing is good, or because it’s inconsistent? I’m gonna go with “yes”. I really really hope that there is an ending -with answers/explanations – in store, and that things start coming soon. (What have you done?)
Morning Glories vol 5: Tests by Nick Spencer – (Make her get up!)
Morning Glories vol 6: Demerits by Nick Spencer – I have no idea what is even going on anymore. (My David.)
Morning Glories vol 7: Honors by Nick Spencer – I’m not sure why I keep reading – I keep thinking I know what’s going on, because there are hints of answers, but I have no idea if any theories I come up with are close to accurate because more shit gets thrown into the mix. Sigh. (Zoe?)
Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory – this was so much fun! The Amazing Telemachus family was once on the edge of greatness – the patriarch of the family (Teddy) is a conman, the rest of his family (wife Maureen, eldest daughter Irene, and his sons Frank and Buddy) each have actual psychic abilities. In the 70s during a taping of The Mike Douglas Show, a skeptic ruined the family by pointing out Teddy’s tricks. The main plot of the story takes place in the mid-90s; where Irene’s son Matty is now developing his own abilities, and Frank is trying to work his way out of financial problems with the mafia. The characters were all great, and I loved spending time with all of them. This would make a great movie if done properly. (In an instant, he’s there.)
Here by Richard McGuire – an experimental type of graphic novel. The book focuses on one particular area (a corner of a house built in the 1800s) and checks in on it during various points in time over thousands of years (from hundreds of thousands of years ago to several hundred years in the future). There wasn’t really a ‘story’ here, but it was still an interesting type of book. (Now I remember.)
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson – such a joy! This graphic novel started as a webcomic and tells the story of Nimona, a young girl who can shapeshift and decides to become a sidekick to the local villain. It’s set in medieval times mixed with futuristic technology, and blends it all together wonderfully. The characters all have more to them than you’d be set to believe, and the artwork is marvelously adorkable. There was a Chekov’s gun that never fired, but that is a minor nitpick. I really really liked this, and supposedly it’s being turned into a movie – if so, it should be a good one. (A friend.)
Tomorrow’s Kin by Nancy Kress – First in a planned trilogy. Good first contact novel. The “Deneb” show up in a giant ship near the U.N. building in New York City. The Deneb are, it turns out, not actually aliens, so much as …human. 150,000 years ago, a small group of humans were taken from Earth, and transferred to another planet (that they refer to as World). (WHO did this is not answered. There are hints, though, that that particular plotline may rise in the upcoming novels). Anyway, due to World’s geography and whatnot, the Deneb had a jumpstart on agriculture and getting civilization going – thus allowing them to become much more technologically advanced then us Earthlings. Anyway, they built the ship and made their way to Earth for two reasons – to find their ancestors, and to warn us that there is a fatal dust cloud making its way toward earth’s orbit. Will humanity be able to find a cure in the 10 months that we have left? And are the Deneb as trustworthy as they claim? All in all, an engaging sci-fi novel. (She rose from the porch, dusted off the seat of her jeans, and went into the lighted house.)
Nailbiter vol 5 Bound by Blood by Joshua Williamson – Parts of this felt like filler, but it was still an entertaining enough series for me to stick with it. (I hate reading.)
Nailbiter vol 6 The bloody truth by Joshua Williamson – Well. Okay then. You want a lot of exposition and explanation and answers that are rushed and less than supremely satisfying? Because that is what you’re gonna get. One the one hand, at least the series didn’t drag on for far too long just making things more and more complicated (looks sideways at Morning Glories), but on the other hand, the feeling I get is that another volume or two would have actually benefited the series overall. Bummer. Maybe someday this will get turned into a tv series. I suspect that it could be really well done. There’s SO much potential for this idea, it really did feel like they didn’t mine it as much as they should have. Oh well. (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH)
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke – charming graphic novel about a young girl (Zita) and her friend (Joseph) who stumble upon a strange device with a big red button on it. Zita presses the button, zapping them both to a weird alien world that has giant mice, friendly (and not so friendly) robot guards, an alien cult, and, oh, an asteroid approaching that is going to destroy the world in a few weeks. Zita needs to find Joseph, find a way home, and not get herself killed in the process. Nothing wholly original in this, but the artwork is very adorable, and most of the characters are quirky enough that you enjoy the time with them anyway. (Hey wait!)
The End of Ordinary by Edward Ashton – Ehhhh. This was a quick read, and it wasn’t *bad*, but it felt like it wasn’t really living up to it’s potential. There were hints of ideas that were bigger and seemed like they should have been explored better (manmade viruses, altering people’s DNA, rogue AI systems). It started off interesting enough, but by the end … felt sort of empty. I have suspicions that it was set up to allow other novels set in the same universe to be written in the future. (Baby steps, right?)
Paper Girls vol 3 by Brian K Vaughn – This whole volume was set in the way distant past, introduced a few new characters and potential wrinkles, but didn’t really move the story forward much. But that’s okay, because the characters are for the most part pretty great. Looking forward to future volumes. (Why too what?)
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafron – read this for college class, was super enjoyable! Not my usual pick, but I’m glad that I was forced to. Set in Barcelona in 1945, this tells the tale of Daniel, who has his life changed when he discovers the work of a (mostly) unknown author named Julian Carax. The stories within stories were intriguing and all of the mystery and drama and symbolism and beautiful language just worked on so many levels. Highly recommended. (Soon afterward, like figures made of steam, father and son disappear into the crowd of the Ramblas, their steps lost forever in the shadow of the wind.)
A Small Story about the Sky by Alberto Rios – poetry, with a heavy desert tint to them. Some worked amazingly well, some were just meh. (Something is always fixed.)
Brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – This was a autobiography/memoir told in verse form. This was like a time capsule of the Civil Rights movement of the 60s. Many of the poems were powerful, too. (And all the worlds you are - / Ohio and Greenville / Woodson and Irby / Gunnar's child and Jack's daughter / Jehovah's Witness and nonbeliever / listener and writer / Jackie and Jacqueline - / gather into one world / called You / where You decide / what each world / and each story / and each ending / will finally be.)
Al Franken Giant of the Senate by Al Franken- God, how I wish more politicians were like Al Franken. The man is smart, passionate, funny and he CARES. This autobiography goes thru Franken’s early life, his time on SNL, and the majority of it is focused on his run for the US Senate. He’s not perfect, of course, but just seeing that not all politicians in this era of Trump are horrible humans is refreshing. (And how fucking great they are.) ..sigh. And, just a week and a half after I read this, news about Franken’s behavior has broken. I’m disappointed and sad and angry and I don’t even know. The book was still interesting, and well written, but my entire outlook of Franken has been changed, and not for the better.
Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King – good, but not GREAT. (A moth flutters from the branch of the old oak tree and settles on her hand.)
Rhett & Link’s Book of Mythicality: A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity, and Tomfoolery by Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal – my favorite youtubers wrote a book. Part autobiography, part how-to-guide to living a more ‘mythical’ lifestyle… it wasn’t all that funny (comedy in books really is difficult), but it was an enjoyable enough way to pass the time. (Now go, and be your mythical best.)
You Can’t Spell America Without Me: The Really Tremendous Inside Story of my Fantastic First Year as President Donald J Trump - A So-called Parody by Alec Baldwin & Kurt Andersen – Baldwin’s Trump impression has long worn out its welcome (just like the real thing!) but this book was ...well, it was all right. Had a lot of subtle (and many completely unsubtle) jabs at the Cheeto. But I'm sure it didn't change any minds. I don't think that was even the goal, though. I guess if it helped any sane individual have a moment or two of joy, it has succeeded. I did get a few smiles out of it, but mostly it made me tired, because there has been SO. MUCH. CRAP. (Because the president has got a question.)
Legend volume one: Defend the Grounds by Samuel Sattin – Graphic novel set in a post-apocalyptic world in which humans have mostly died out (those who remain have become zombie/brainless killers) and house pets (dogs cats and hawks, at least) have gained intelligence and banded together to reform their societies. This was a lot of set up, but just didn’t work for me. The art was decent, but the story and characters didn’t connect with me. I won’t be continuing this. (I look forward to joining you… on the blooded path.)
The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein - Definitely a "page turner" - this sci-fi romp is set in 2196, where teleportation is the norm. Then, everyman Joel Byram finds out - the hard way - that the procedure doesn't work the way everyone thinks it does. Having it end with it more or less begging for a sequel is pretty irksome, though. (Fuck.)

So. That was what I read. Onto the films...

Movies seen in 2017:

Moonwalkers – Ron Perlman and Rupert Grint star in this comedy about the US Government having a ‘back up plan’ of fake moon-landing footage. Perlman is a CIA agent who kicks major ass and takes no shit from no one. Rupert is a manager of a failing rock band in England. Perlman wants to hire Stanley Kubrick to make the fake footage. Hijinks ensue. It’s actually pretty funny, although there’s a drug scene that goes on a little too long. Overall, a fun little romp.
The Secret Life of Pets – I admit I did nod off near the end, but the parts that I saw were charming and funny. The kids really enjoyed it, too.
Life After Beth – a zombie romantic comedy (zomromcom?) that is …sorta lifeless? It’s got Aubrey Plaza (from Parks & Rec) in it, which is why I watched it, but it didn’t really have a point, or many good jokes. It wasn’t a BAD movie, but was just… there.
Welcome to Me – Kirsten Wiig plays Alice Kleig, a woman diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, who wins 83 million dollars in the lottery. She uses the winnings to start her own Oprah-like television show where she talks about herself. This wasn’t that good, and wasn’t funny. It was actually sad that her mental illness wasn’t being addressed by any of the people around her. Her therapist gave up on her, her ex-husband was there, but not attempting to get her help, her best friend couldn’t get through to her due to her selfishness (and her mental illness?), and the television crew didn’t care at all as long as she kept signing checks and their ratings were improving. It had the textbook “happy” ending in that she “improved” her relationships with her friends and those around her, but oof, this could have been so much better than it was.
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken – based on a true story about a group of friends who kidnapped the CEO of Heineken beer in 1983. And then they received the highest ransom payout in history. (It doesn’t end well for them, though.) Anthony Hopkins was Mr. Heineken, and he was great, as usual. I enjoyed this – partly because I had no idea how it was going to play out. Sometimes ignorance is useful.
Tallulah – Ellen Page plays Tallulah, a drifter who winds up taking a toddler from her neglectful upper-class mother. This was really really good.
Imperium – Daniel Radcliffe plays an FBI agent who goes undercover into the world of white supremacy in order to stop them from making a dirty bomb. Lacked tension, or something. It was merely okay, I didn’t really feel anything for any of the characters, and didn’t get a deeper understanding of the white supremacists.
Life of Crime – a mediocre crime comedy with Jennifer Aniston and Tim Robbins. Another case of a movie that was entertaining, but more or less forgettable.
The Shallows – Millennial Jaws, I guess.
This Is Elvis – a sort of documentary of Elvis Presley’s life and career. Used a lot of rare footage, mixed with a few recreations (especially in the early part of his life when things weren’t documented) and was narrated by various people from Elvis’s life. It was pretty interesting, although somewhat sad. Elvis seemed like a decent guy who got in over his head a few times. And man, the guy really did have a great voice.
John Wick – In this Matrix side-quest, Neo is almost defeated by the mini-boss, Perkins, before Player 2 (Wilem Dafoe) steps in. Eventually, Player 2 is killed by the final boss, and then Neo has to battle him in the rain. He wins, but also dies. Good news, though! He must have reached a save point right before then, because he’s able to finish out the game with a new dog.
The Complete Beatles – In the 1960s, 4 young British guys got together to form a band. They had a few hits over the course of the decade.
La La Land – hey, a musical! Very very pretty, and the opening number alone is worth the price of admission. A lot of the songs are, sadly, somewhat forgettable, but the ending made me tear up anyway.
1408 – Maybe it’s just me, but ghost stories are just not really that scary. John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson were good in their roles in this, though.
Suicide Squad – what a freaking mess
Gattac – I had seen Gattaca years ago, but remembered pretty much nothing. So, when Saren said she was going to download the movie and asked if I’d (re)watch it with her, I said sure. And... then the final 11 minutes of the movie weren’t viewable. (She found another file a few days later, watched the final bit, and then told me what happened.) Two things that stood out upon watching this – it’s interesting that in the “near future”, an obsession with 1950s-styles reemerges, and those detectives investigating the murder were really bad at their jobs.
Deseierto – meh
American Beauty – rewatch. This hasn’t aged well. Back in 1999 I thought it was insightful and deep. Now I found it pretentious and annoying. And most (all?) of the characters are reprehensible.
Scarface – cocaine is a helluva drug.
Trolls – ehhhh. Super colorful, and sing-y, and …surreal? Weird? Odd? Character design. It wasn’t a horrible movie, but it didn’t do a lot for me, personally, either.
Arrival – bit of a slow burn, but pretty good flick.
Counter Clockwise – neat premise – a scientist accidentally creates a time machine, and travels 6 months into the future, where he finds himself wanted for the murder of his wife & sister, so he has to travel back in time and find out why. Unfortunately, the premise was the best thing about this low budget drek. I guess logically it all worked out, but most of the characters’ actions were WAY unbelievable, making it difficult to buy into how it was all playing out. Pity.
Moana – great character arcs for both Moana and Maui, AMAZING animation, and just a great movie overall.
The Remaining – it’s The Rapture, yo. Still don’t get how that’s a good thing for anyone involved – all the believers die, and those who remain get chased by fallen demons unless they “choose god” too. Or… even if they do? I don’t know, strange belief, but, you know, people believe all sorts of weird things. The acting wasn’t bad, and the production value was actually pretty decent for this type of film, but there wasn’t much of a point to the story beyond God works in mysterious ways.
Se7en – rewatch. Still a pretty good flick, although this is one of those movies where, once you know the twists, it’s not *quite* as entertaining, ya know? Also, where the female characters at, yo? Also also, Mills & Sommerset were a lot more loose with the rules than I recall them being the first time I watched it.
Space Station 76 – it’s like the writers said, “Hey, let’s make a spoof of the 70s.” and then got all the 70s stuff, but forgot the jokes. This was painfully unfunny. Pity, because there was a glimmer of potential there. The soundtrack was groovy, though.
Passengers – not cool, Chris Pratt. Not cool. Which the movie acknowledges… but then has Jennifer Lawrence accept/fall in love with her stalker/captor anyway. Sigh. A better ending that I read online: Jim should die because his survival is ludicrous. Then we have Aurora living alone, talking to the robot bartender, stalkerly reading up on her fellow passengers and ultimately crushing on one of them, struggling with the ethical dilemma... and then we see her with a screwdriver getting ready to open a guy's pod. Fade to black.
The To Do List – I think I’m pretty okay with watching anything with Aubrey Plaza in it.
Vin and the Chipmunks – Missed the first ten/fifteen minutes of Alvin and the Chipmunks while on vacation. It was…there.
Rogue One A Star Wars Story – Fan service galore, but it worked. I’m not a mega-fan (the Star Wars universe is fun escapism, not a hokey religion), so this was just a good popcorn movie.
The Bye Bye Man – how does a movie this poorly written, this predictable, this unscary, this unintentionally laughable get made? The mysteries of Hollywood.
Kubo and the Two Strings – really, really good. The animation is freaking amazing, and the characters were fun to be with.
Train to Busan – easily the best zombie movie I’ve seen in years. Loved the zombies, loved the characters, loved the action. Very entertaining.
Doctor Strange –The bending cities trick was cool, but did get a little tedious after a while. However, the Hong Kong action scene near the end was freaking AMAZING. All in all just a mediocre entry in the Marvel movie universe.
A Dog’s Purpose –schmaltzy and not that greatly acted, but, I cried anyway and laughed at some of the dumb jokes. They’re good dogs, Brent.
Split – I bet that stinger would have made me super excited if I had ever seen Unbreakable. Since I haven’t, it feel pretty flat, like the rest of this movie.
Masterminds – very few of the jokes worked (I think I laughed maybe once) but the fact that it was a heist movie (somewhat) and a true story (again, somewhat) gave it a lot of leeway. Plus Kristin Wiig and Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones all get a pass – I’ll watch pretty much anything they’re in. And this wasn’t a a *bad* movie, it just had a lot more potential than it lived up to.
Hell or High Water- banks are evil, but robbing banks is too, I guess.
Unbreakable – ah. Now the ending of Split makes a little more sense. (Doesn’t make that a better movie, though) This was pretty good, probably the best M. Night movie. And it did leave me wanting more of David’s story, so, well done?
Green Room – holy cow. Punk band versus a bunch of heroin selling Nazis. Tense, gory, and pretty well acted, too. (Bonus – Patrick Stewart!!)
Night of the Living Deb – you know how sometimes you want junk food, and then you eat it, and you’re like, “Why did I eat that? It was so not satisfying.”? This movie was that. A zombie ‘comedy’ (I did chuckle once or twice, I think) about a couple who have a one-night stand and wake up the morning after to find themselves in a zombie-apocalypse. Ray Wise is in it, which is a plus, but there’s not much else going for this, sadly.
Nocturnal Animals – the novel within the movie was way more gripping than the outer story about Susan’s failing marriage/career, and I felt like there were a number of things I didn’t quite “get” about that aspect of it. This was adapted from a novel, apparently, and I feel like there were probably things that would have made more sense if I had read that. I really enjoyed the movie overall, despite the confusing parts, so maybe I’ll track down the book it was based on and read that.
Life – I felt like the pacing was off at the beginning – they kind of rushed getting Calvin in and established (there should have been a whole lot more awe and wonder at the discovery of intelligent life forms, after all) and the whole thing was filled with horror movie clichés, but for the most part, I enjoyed this. The “twist” ending was not really much of a twist, but what ya gonna do? Also, I don’t think I’ve seen a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal that I have NOT liked, at least somewhat. Dude winds up in really interesting movies, if nothing else.
Frozen - (not the Disney movie) low budget flick about a trio of college students on a ski trip who get stuck on a ski lift at night, with hungry wolves below. Sure, credibility was strained at times, but this wasn’t half bad.
Beauty and the Beast – the live action remake of the animated classic. The bits that were spot on were SPOT. ON. And much goosebumps (and maybe a few tears) were had. But this did feel a bit …inflated? Like there were maybe ten minutes or so that could have been trimmed, just to make it a tighter movie. Eh. I’m nitpicking. This was pretty great.
Logan – why is it so dusty in here? This was really good, but certainly not an upbeat flick. But, yes, very very enjoyable.
Get Out – so good. One of those rare movies packed with multiple layers and symbolism, AND it was enjoyable and realistic (to a point). Very smart, very well acted, and just a great movie all around.
The Girl on the Train – blah. Just felt like this sort of thing has been done a lot better by dozens of other movies.
The Belko Experiment – quick brutal little horror flick about an office in South America that is actually a government-run experiment in killing and human survival. Outlandish and ridiculous, yet enjoyable for what it was.
Mindhorn – hilarious comedy about a washed up actor who stared in a crappy sci-fi police show in the late 80s called Mindhorn. In the present day, a suspected killer says he will only cooperate with the police if he can speak with Mindhorn. So the cops bring the actor in to help them out. Hilarity ensues. (Yes, really.) This was one of the funniest comedies I’ve seen in a very long time.
Tunnel – Korean drama that was engaging, but probably could have been about 20 minutes shorter. About a business man who gets trapped in his car when a poorly constructed tunnel collapses.
John Wick chapter 2 – sequel. And set up for ANOTHER. (Which I will absolutely see.) This world is ridiculous, and yet somehow totally engaging. Although, really, I think it would be ideal if the third chapter is the final one.
Alone Here - a slightly better than average zombie apocalypse flick. Mostly a character study, about a woman who retreated to the woods with her husband and young daughter once things started to go bad. Incorporates flashbacks to show how she ended up alone. In the present, she meets up with a man with his teenage stepdaughter who are trying to survive – they work together, trying to trust each other.
Shimmer Lake – a crime thriller that was …okay. It tried to take a page from Memento by more or less playing out in reverse chronological order, which was not really necessary, but did give it a few semi-interesting twists, I guess. I saw the final twist coming way too early, and by the end was kind of thinking, “okay, what was the point of this?”
The Boss Baby – um.
Alien: Covenant – sequel to Prometheus, and still a prequel to Alien. Took WAY too long to get things set up, and then still didn’t care about (m)any of the cannon-fodder once the Xenomorphs started picking them off. It did look pretty, so there’s that. It was EXTREMELY cynical, though. David/Walter was the standout. (The androids really are some of the most interesting things about the Alien universe. Or at least the Prometheus-based part.)
Trapped – a Hindi film about a young man who goes to rent an apartment in a high-rise building, and winds up locking himself in there. Some of it stretched credibility (nobody saw the fire!?!?) but it was overall VERY engaging.
Snatched – I had low expectations for this, they weren’t met. (sorry, Amy Schumer & Goldie Hawn. This was just garbage.)
Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2: It was just a tad overlong, and some of the charm from the first one has faded a bit, but overall, these wacky a-holes are still a lot of fun to hang out with.
Cult of Chucky – blah. Too cynical for a Chucky movie, really. And I’m reminded of a Marilyn Manson quote – “Without the threat of death there’s no reason to live at all”. Chucky has at this point basically obtained immortality – you can’t beat him, there’s no real point in trying. Which makes his story boring.
A Ghost Story – uggggggggh. I watched this movie at 2x speed, and it’s only 92 minutes long, and EVEN THEN, there were scenes that dragged (the pumpkin pie scene is seriously like 10 minutes long). “Get on with it” was probably uttered by me a few times. And the time loop ending, while sorta cool …didn’t really fit with the rest of the movie. Disappointing.
Blood Father – It’s Mel Gibson, so, you know, there’s that baggage. But, if you’re willing to overlook that, this was a well-acted fun diversion. It’s got William H. Macy in it, too, so there’s another plus. Mel plays an ex-con who has a teenage daughter, Lydia, who has gotten herself into a buttload of trouble – her boyfriend has connections with the Mexican cartel. When she ends up shooting him during a house robbery, she goes on the run, turning to her estranged dad to help her out.
Timecrimes – Tight little sci-fi thriller about a guy named Hector who does a little time travel while trying to avoid getting killed by a mysterious guy in the woods. Could’ve done with a smidge less misogynistic overtones, though.
47 Meters Down – Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, and sharks. Perfectly acceptable (and forgettable) popcorn flick, which did have some moments of true panic-inducing tension.
Hercules in New York – Ahnuld’s first movie. For the most part, this is a brainless comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously and while not anything outstanding, is pretty fun. I actually laughed out loud a few times!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – rewatch; ah, they were all so young.
Spider-Man Homecoming – tons of fun! I guess the 6^th time is the charm, huh? Michael Keaton as the Vulture was a great villain. His backstory was believable and he was sympathetic – and menacing! And Peter Parker’s friends and love interests were diverse and realistic and funny and this was just an all-around great superhero movie.
Bone Tomahawk – it’s like Predator, but set in the wild west!
Kong Skull Island – there were a ton of “this is only here to look cool” shots, but, damn, did they look cool.
War for the Planet of the Apes – This whole trilogy was great, but I felt like the final five or ten minutes of this one felt like a bit of a letdown. I’m not sure how I was expecting it to wrap up differently, but somehow it was just…slightly disappointing. Overall, though, each of the new Planet of the Apes movies has been fantastic. Maybe I was just sad that there (probably) won’t be another one.
It Comes at Night – tense. And sad. But very compelling.
Kill List – holy fuck, that ending is going to stay with me for a while. This was all about a retired hitman named Jay with a young wife & son who has fallen on hard times. His partner and best friend, Gal, comes to him offering a job of 3 individuals to take care of. When Jay agrees to do it, the contract is signed in blood (the client slashes his hand with a knife). Things get increasingly weird and dark from there.
Sightseers – dark comedy about a sheltered woman going on a road trip with her new boyfriend, committing murders along the way, as one does.Sort of like if Natural Born Killers were done with ...just ordinary boring people.
The Wizard of Oz – this is a pretty obscure musical from 1939, not a lot of people have heard of it, which is surprising, because it’s really really good!
The Proposition – Excellent bloody brutal western set in Australia in the 1800s.
Die Hard – this was like Die Hard in a corporate skyscraper. (hahaha) Anyway, yeah, fantastic action flick. Alan Rickman was amazing, and John McClane was relatively human and normal, which made the movie all that much better. In the later sequels, he was just this unstoppable macho blah, but here there were moments he was scared, he got hurt, he was someone you could root for and care about. Plus, this had some great iconic lines.
Logan Lucky – fun heist movie
31 – I watched this Rob Zombie movie in hopes that it would get better, or that there was some point to it all. It didn’t, and there wasn’t.
The Muppet Christmas Carol – this was there. Maybe I’ve become a heartless bastard, but I feel like I’ve outgrown the Muppets. This just didn’t make me feel anything.
Bright - the pacing and editing were weird with this. As was a lot of the characterization. And the message just seemed to be, "Prejudice is bad, but we all have it". I guess. Some of the action was cool, and *some* of the world building worked - if there were better writers working with this universe, I could see myself checking out a sequel.

So, there's that.
I also collected spare change this year - I already counted it up - and made it an episode of OK What Now.

In 2018, I really want to write more, to read more, to watch more movies and play more games. I want to get out of the bit of a rut that I've found myself in, and do more things that make me feel more alive (and document them so as to be able to remember them years later) I totally plan on blogging more (both this blog and my 'super secret writing' one), and we also have plans as a family to incorporate more game and movie nights. I think 2018 is going to be a really good year.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

December 2016 1se

Here's the 1 second everyday video for the last month of 2016:

And, taking a page from Steph, here's how the videos breakdown:

1. Xmas decorations put up in the house.
2. Me combing my hair out.
3. Ori
4. Silas & Irina after the Seussical show
5. Jury duty day 1 (outside the courthouse)
6. Jury duty day 2 (inside the courthouse, on the 17th floor)
7. First day of wearing the Santa hat
8. Kids watching A Christmas Story
9. Driving around looking at xmas lights
10. At Seussical, a few of the things to be auctioned off.
11. At Seussical, as the crew was doing strike
12. Spaghetti dinner that I overcooked.
13. homemade ornaments
14. gingerbread houses
15. the day we put up our tree
16. Silas & Irina making a youtube video
17. lunch with my sister and Sherry
18. holiday party, with the kids unwrapping the plastic wrap ball of candy
19. Abed
20. pizza at work
21. candelight dinner in celebration of the solstice
22. coworkers posing in the lobby
23. buying groceries??
24. opening pjs on xmas eve
25. xmas day!
26. playing zombie dice
27. being shot at with dart guns
28. buying more groceries (and the checkout machine telling me to not forget my change)
29. recycling the xmas tree
30. rainbow outside of work
31. all the spare change I found over the year (grand total of 4.13)

Saturday, December 26, 2015

2015, all wrapped up

Yes, there are still 6 more days left in the year, and who knows what those will bring, but this will be the last blog post I make in the year known as 2015.

Back at the start of this year, I made some "resolutions." Now that 300-some-odd days have passed, let's check in, shall we?

Blog more. (Accomplished already!)

Yup, this one was a success. I decided to blog every 15 days, and, with this blog entry... mission accomplished! (we'll overlook the one time I forgot, and the one time that Silas blogged for me, and the numerous times I had absolutely nothing to blog about...).

I also said that I wanted to:

Write at least 2015 words every month on a fictional story. I don't need to finish the story, I don't need to start it - it could just be outlining or working on a particular scene, and it doesn't have to be the same story each month. Just need to write something fiction, and have put in at least two thousand and fifteen words into it. (I realize this seems like setting the bar pretty low, since the total word count for the year would only be 24,180 - which is not even half of what the Nanowrimo goal is, but considering my writing output lately, I think it is a rather achievable target.)

I did write some fiction. However, I just did a word count on my super-secret blog, and, well, it's only up to 17.874. That's despite writing every Wednesday. There IS another Wednesday coming up, so if I can manage 6300 more words....
Next!

Watch as many movies as possible.

68 done. (I'll throw the list up at the end of this. I kept track of all my books & movies consumed this year, along with notes...) If I manage to watch any more films or finish any more novels, I'll add them to the list(s).

Work on the Project (yes, the very same project I was mentioning on this blog back in [sigh] 2007.)

I did! It was ONE weekend out of the whole year, and for only about twenty minutes, but ...that counts, right?

Ex...er....cise?

Half-way win. For the first three months, I did a bunch of pushups, situps and jumping jacks daily. (Actually, 15 of each each day in January, 30 of each each day in February, 45 of each each day in March.) I would have kept going, but near the end of March it just got...exhausting. And after slipping three days in a row, I simply gave up. 2016 is right around the corner though, so maybe I'll start up again. (Without the "this many this month" gimmick.)

Read at least half the amount of books that Stephanie reads this year. I'm pretty sure that she is shooting for a goal of 60. I think I can manage to read 30 books in 365 days. I always give my star-rating on Goodreads.com, but I might start jotting down quick notes/thoughts about the books too.

I hit 40. (And I'm nearly done with one more) I don't know how many Stephanie read. 40's pretty good, though.
And since that's everything, I'm now just going to end with the list of movies and books that I saw this year.
See ya'll in 2016!

Movies seen in 2015: (mostly spoiler free, but proceed with caution)

Guardians of the Galaxy – best movie I’ve seen all year. ☺ It was a little jarring at first with all the different aliens and locations trying to keep track of exactly what was supposed to be going on, but once it got rolling, the fun was just nonstop. Rocket and Groot, were, of course, standouts, but Drax and Peter “Star-Lord” Quill also brought the fun. Even Gamora had hints of backstory and depth. Overall, a great ride.
Tusk – horror/comedy movie that started off pretty great – the villain was genuinely creepy and engaging (the “protagonist” was a bit of an a-hole, though, and hard to root for, although even he didn’t really deserve his fate) . And then Johnny Depp showed up as ‘comedic relief’, but forgot to bring the comedy, and made the last half of the movie a chore to get thru.
The Equalizer – Denzel Washington kicking ass.
Noah – There aren’t that many movies made nowadays that are based on Biblical stories. This film kinda shows why. It was interesting that they made Noah a jerkass who only followed God’s word (which came to him in visions). But, it took me five tries to watch this without falling asleep, and in the end wasn’t worth having done so.
Coherence – low budget sci-fi (with Nicholas “Xander” Brendan, who has definitely aged since his Buffy days) about a group of middle-aged friends who experience a …kind of fracturing of the multiverse during the passing of a comet. Wasn’t bad at all, but it really did end right as it was starting to pick up and get good.
Wish I Was Here – Zach Braff stars in this amazingly good drama (that he also directed and co-wrote with his brother) Just a nicely done movie about a Jewish family dealing with the father dying. Nothing really groundbreaking, but the performances and humor really made it a great journey.
The Interview – if not for the brouhaha around this, I doubt I would’ve seen it. Wasn’t great, I think I laughed once or twice, but whatever. Completely forgettable.
Lucy – meh. Was just an excuse for Scarlett Johansen to look cool and take out mafia goons.
Parallels – this was decent enough (nothing really new or original – just a parallel earth story), but it ended on kind of a cliffhanger, which seemed odd for a movie. Doing a little research, it appears that this was actually a pilot for a television series, which makes a LOT more sense. If the series got picked up – and had a set # of seasons to tell its story – I’d probably watch it.
Cinderella – the live-action version. Enjoyable!
Big Hero 6 – this was pretty great. Kind of a kid-friendly Avengers, but set in some alternate universe where San Francisco & Tokyo combined into a mega city, and robots are commonplace.
You’re Next – typical slasher film that had a twist in that one of the intended victims fought back and kicked some ass. Could’ve been better.
Dumb and Dumber To – unnecessary sequel. I went in with extremely low expectations. They were not met.
Gone Girl – David Fincher makes pretty great movies.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 –I don’t really remember ANYTHING from the book (except that I was disappointed, overall) so …I guess the movie was better, because I did enjoy this, although it did seem like a whole lot of “set up”. Which is the inherent problem with splitting a movie into two parts as has become the trend. Maybe I’ll just stop watching part 1s of these sorts of movies.
Divergent – Started out fairly interesting (despite the super silly concept of separating society based on one singular trait), but this movie really was about 30 minutes too long. (And it’s the first of a trilogy! With, of course, the third part being split into two.)
Interstellar – Honest Trailers called this “Christopher Nolan’s Contact”, which is hilarious and accurate.
Annie –why??????
Predestination – it’s ~~turtles~~ Ethan Hawkes all the way down.
The Babadook – Australian horror movie that was pretty damn terrifying because mental illness can truly be scary. Amelia lives with her six year old son, Sam. Sam’s father, Oskar, was killed in a car wreck while driving Amelia to the hospital. Ameila is not dealing with the grief very well, and Sam is becoming more and more of a problem child as a result. When a strange picture book called “Mister Babadook” arrives in their house, things get worse. There are parts of this that were really tough to watch – great acting from both the mother and child – but overall, this was one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a quite a while.
Psycho – There’s a reason this is a classic. I was surprised at how little was actual Horror, and how overall it was a lot more of a mystery or suspense. Anthony Perkins was pretty incredible. I actually liked Norman, despite knowing that he was a killer.
Horrible Bosses 2 – nothing really to say about this one. It was about what I expected, and it wasn’t awful. I’d say it was about on par with the first one, actually.
The Voices – this was depressing.
Killer Joe – sex, violence, swearing, murder, and fried chicken legs.
Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – meh. The acting was fine, the gimmick of having it appear as (mostly) one continuous shot was fine, the meta aspects were fine, but, somehow, overall, it just …didn’t work for me.
Nightcrawler – wow. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom, who is a complete monster that doesn’t have a shred of humanity in him. Once Louis finds out about “nightcrawling” – filming crime scenes and selling the videos to the local news stations – he becomes obsessed with a) getting the best footage, and first, and b) with the news director Nina. He’s morally grey (well, light black, maybe) at that point – and then he decides to go a step further and start really breaking laws with a total disregard for anyone around. Only his footage matters. Extremely creepy performance and yet immensely watchable.
Honeymoon – low budget horror flick about a young couple, Paul & Bea, on their honeymoon in a cabin in the woods. Bea starts acting really strange after one night. Turns out it was alien abduction. A couple of really gross moments, and some creepiness, but with so much of the mystery not explained, it felt kinda frustrating – like, why? What’s the point of this? I felt like this came pretty close to being a great little gem, but fell short.
The Maze Runner – decent adaptation of a decent YA novel. The book was more compelling than the movie (the movie was irritating in a “why don’t they just EXPLAIN things to him” sort of way – the book may have had elements of that, too, but I don’t remember.) Definitely a downer ending, though.
Chappie – Short Circuit for the 21st century, I guess. This certainly had potential, but it didn’t live up to it, sadly.
Zombeavers – I don’t know, man. It was there. It was dumb. (Not that I was expecting otherwise). About the best I can say for this is that it was short.
The Fault in our Stars – this was really good. Although there was a lot of dust in the room when we watched… Anyway, yes, Pretty People With Cancer was a pretty entertaining flick (although the indie-song soundtrack got to be a *little* much near the end), and I may read the book, just ‘cuz.
Fermat’s Room – Spanish film about four mathematicians who get invited to “solve the world’s greatest enigma” by a mysterious stranger identifying him (or her)self as “Fermat”. Once there, they get locked in the room, and begin to receive math & logic puzzles that they have one minute to solve before the room starts to press together. Not great, but not horrible.
The Captive – Ryan Reynolds stars as a dad whose 8 year old daughter gets abducted, and spends 8 years looking for her. The acting in this was decent enough, the story wasn’t super-original, but it could have been a good movie overall, except that it was presented in a non-linear fashion. The jumps back and forth in time were EXTREMELY distracting and disorienting, and it was difficult to know what was happening. And there really was no reason for them to tell the story that way, as far as I could tell.
Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever – Silas had this review: “I really enjoyed that! Well, the parts with Grumpy Cat were really funny, but the parts where they were just talking was kind of boring.” Spot on.
Home Sweet Hell – a ‘dark comedy’ that didn’t have any laughs, sadly. The trailer made it look a lot more interesting than it turned out to be.
It Follows – an extremely overhyped horror movie. This definitely had moments of creepiness, and the concept was intriguing (though flawed), and I enjoyed it, for the most part, but I wish I hadn’t had it built up to be “the best horror movie in over a decade”, since it…um..wasn’t. It was good, but not great.
Taken 3 – ridiculous as hell, but still somehow watchable.
Boyhood – This was almost like a documentary …of just your average kid. The director filmed the same boy (Mason, in the movie, but his real name is Ellar Coltrane) for TWELVE YEARS, from the age of 6 to 18. So we follow Mason and his family as he grows up more or less right before our eyes. Which is pretty incredible. There wasn’t much *story*, because it was just kind of …life. Which can be boring. And amazing. And …life. I’d actually be interested in seeing one of these types of films done focusing on other parts of the world. What is it like for a boy growing up in the Middle East, for example.
Kung Fu Hustle – Roger Ebert described this film as “Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny.” Pretty much, yup. Wacky martial arts and physics defying stunts abound. Very enjoyable.
What We Do In The Shadows – a mockumentary about 4 vampires living in modern day New Zealand, and dealing with everyday life. It was amusing throughout, and had a couple laugh out loud moments (most of the stuff with the werewolves, the “dark bidding” joke, pretty much anything with Petyr).
Maggie – Very slow paced drama/thriller about a father and daughter dealing with the fact that the daughter has been bitten by a zombie, and her days are numbered.
The Lazarus Effect – blah. If you are going to make a horror movie about someone being brought back from the dead and being brought back wrong… you really shouldn’t make it so damn boring.
Reclaim
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – classic.
Soaked in Bleach – documentary made mostly by the Private Investigator that Courtney Love hired days before Kurt Cobain’s body was discovered. Definitely makes Kurt’s suicide look a lot more questionable. And absolutely does not paint Courtney Love in a good light at all.
Jupiter Ascending – it looked pretty.
Ex Machina – this was good. That ending, though… It wasn’t a bad ending, I just felt like there should have been more indicating that it might go that way.
Insurgent – AKA The Divergent Series: Insurgent. I liked the first, but this one didn’t have enough going for it. The action scenes near the beginning were decent, but overall it just felt like “Dystopia By The Numbers”. Or maybe I’m just too old for these types of movies anymore.
Hellraiser – To quote Saren (who watched this with me) after this was over: “Well, now I’ve seen that movie.”
God bless America – It’s like Bobcat Goldthwait decided to combine Natural Born Killers and Falling Down, but amped up the bitterness.
Time Lapse – pretty solid indie flick about a group of twenty-somethings that discover a camera that takes pictures of the future. It raised some questions about fate and pre-determinism, but then never really answered them. Which is both cool, because it leaves it to the viewer to decide, and also frustrating because it leaves it to the viewer to decide.
Drag Me To Hell – lots of jump scares. Lots of grossness. Not much else, really.
Kingsman: The Secret Service – stylish and action packed and silly and cartoony (which makes sense, since it was based on a graphic novel from Mark Millar). It was entertaining, but not great, and there was a “joke” near the end (see what I did there?) that I found bothersome enough to sour the film.
Run All Night – Liam Neeson as a retired hitman, Ed Harris as a mob boss. Corrupt cops and lots of chases, but this just didn’t click with me.
Avengers: Age of Ultron – Epic comic book goodness. There was a LOT going on (too much, maybe? It did feel rushed in a lot of places) but this was an awesome popcorn movie that more than lived up to its job of entertaining me.
Spy – Very, very funny.
Cop Car – two ten year old boys run away from home, and stumble across an abandoned cop car. They take it for a joyride. The owner of said cop car is a corrupt sheriff played by Kevin Bacon. It’s absurd and intense and stupid and awesome.
Mad Max: Fury Road – This was a hell of a movie. Just insane over the top action. And characters that you cared about.
Cut Bank - sort of a Fargo Lite. Dwayne wants to get out of the little town of Cut Bank, Montana. After he films the murder of a postal worker, he plans on using the reward money (from turning in the film) to move. Things don’t go that easily, though, once the sheriff starts investigating. Not a bad little flick.
Tomorrowland –Had some fun moments, but overall it sorta fell flat. Also, don’t know if this counts entirely, since I fell asleep during the last twenty minutes.
Robot Overlords – Ben Kingsley and Gillian Anderson in a sci-fi movie about, well, robot overlords? Sign me up! …except, no. This was complete dreck.
The Guest – Thriller (slash parody? – it got really ridiculous in the final twenty minutes, and I think it meant to) about a stranger who claims to have served in the military with the dead son of our hapless Everyfamily. There’s more – much more – to his guy than meets the eye, of course. DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! This was cheesy in a lot of ways, but sometimes cheese hits the spot.
These Final Hours – solid flick about a meteor hitting the earth, wiping out all of humanity, and the final hours in Perth.
Inside Out – Pure Joy.
Beyond The Reach – pretty sparse thriller with Michael Douglas as a rich guy who accidentally kills someone while on a hunting trip out in the desert. He then attempts to murder his guide. The film was okay – nothing great, but I’ve definitely seen worse – and then they had the last ten minutes, which were just…dumb. Oh well.
Get Santa – Santa goes to jail, and a father recently released from jail takes his son across the countryside trying to break him out and save Christmas. Sorta odd, but also somewhat charming.
Terminator: Genisys – Well, obviously, I’m going to see any Terminator movie. I saw Salvation, after all, and while at the time I said that it was better than Rise of the Machines…it kinda wasn’t. Anyway. This new one decides to pretty much ignore 3 and 4. And…then says that 1 and 2 didn’t really happen, either. I mean, yeah, you can argue that it’s simply different timelines, and that means they all happened, but that makes things messy. Anyway. Things I did NOT like: a) This was convoluted and incoherent due to all the timey-wimey stuff going on (and too much of it was ‘explained’ by Ah-nuld…which doesn’t make sense, why would an infiltration ‘bot know so much about time travel?... of course, we never find out who SENT “Pops”, either, so having that mystery unexplained is the writer’s go-to ‘answer’ for any sort of problem that arises. Gives ‘em stuff to figure out in the sequels, right?)

Jai Courtney. Oh. My. God. Please, if there are sequels coming, get someone else -ANYONE else- to play Cardboard Reese. I mean Kyle Reese.
John Connor. I don’t know who was playing him this go around (and I do appreciate that they have kept up with the constantly changing actor for that role thing) but …ugh. He just didn’t have the right ‘feel’ for John Connor.
Of course, they then flat out terminated his character, anyway, by turning him into the main villain. And by not having Cardboard & Sarah ‘mate’, John doesn’t exist anymore… right? That kinda saddens me, actually. So humanity doesn’t have a savior in the future?

All that being said, there were things I did like:

Most of the action scenes were pretty well done.
J.K. Simmons was awesome
The callbacks/recreating of T1 in the first third of the movie were well done (although if you’re gonna digitalize young Arnold, why not digitalize young Bill Paxton, too??)
They still kept the Terminator music.
They left it open for future movies.

One thing that I would have liked to have seen (and maybe explored in the future?) – 1973. Pops and young Sarah seems like it would be interesting to see. How did he explain everything to a terrified orphaned little girl? And what was her childhood like after that? Also, it was unclear as to whether the terminator that Pops saved her from in ’73 was the T1000 that was also in ’84? That was my understanding. So they were eluding that Terminator for 11 years, until Cardboard shows up, and that’s when they killed it? [shrug] I did enjoy it overall, just felt it could have been better (for one thing, all Terminator movies should be rated R) but I’m hopeful for any future installments.

Jurassic World – Chris Pratt, dinosaur chaos, velociraptor motorcycle gang…what more could you want? (less one dimensional characters and less sexism would be nice.)

AND books...

A word about the sentence in parenthesis after each. A long time ago Harper used to ask me about every book I read, "What was the last word?" So, for each of these books, I wrote down the final SENTENCE of the book. I'll put the entire thing in spoiler tags - except for the last word.

If the final sentence of the book was just a single word (it happens, you know), then I'll spoil-tag the entire word. Onward!

Books read in 2015:

1. Revival by Stephen King –I enjoyed this, but felt that it probably would’ve been better as a short story, or maybe a novella. It’s a pretty short (for King) novel anyway, but after it was over (and the ending was absolutely the most memorable part – it’s stuck with me for weeks) I felt like a lot of the leadup to it was …unnecessary, maybe? (I will come to Mother)

2. Yes Please by Amy Poehler – part memoir, part book of essays. Mostly good stuff, although a lot of the name-dropping famous part was kinda just bleh. Greatly enjoyed her essays & early life stuff. (Yes Please Thank you Sharita)

3. The Walking Dead volume 22: A New Beginning by Robert Kirkman – the latest in the graphic novel series that just keeps on going. This one had a time-jump after the last one, and while not a lot happened, it definitely set up a lot of new plotlines, and also gave the writers the opportunity to do flashbacks to stuff that was skipped (Michonne? Where art thou??). I’m still holding out hope that Rick is somehow the key to the whole zombie plague, but I doubt they’ll end up going there. Still, it’s interesting to have them more or less reboot the whole series at this point. (Don’t move.)

4. Mort(e) by Robert Repino – This was crazy. In a good way. Ants – or rather, one insane Queen Ant – decides to eradicate humanity, and genetically mutates all the lesser animals in order to help be her warriors. Mort(e), a housecat formerly known as Sebastian, becomes a war-hero (to the animals – humans have a reason to fear this killing machine) whose sole purpose is tracking down his best friend, Sheba, a dog he knew before the Change. The novel wasn’t perfect (I would’ve liked more pre-change Sebastian, and more of his time in the war) but it was unique enough that I will absolutely look for more from this author. (Sheba trotted beside him.)

5. Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film by Patton Oswalt – short quick read about how Patton OSwalt spent the last half of the 90s addicted to seeing movies in the theater. (We’ll see.)

6. Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale by David Duchovny – This was a quick breezy read that, to be honest, if hadn’t been written by Fox Mulder probably wouldn’t have been published to begin with. It most certainly wouldn’t have gotten the attention it’s getting. I liked Elsie. Her compatriots not nearly as much. Also, the ending really felt like David just ran out of steam. This seemed almost like a children’s book (and was mentioned in-story that it probably would be) but there were bits that were completely out of place as such (all of the Israel bits , and some of the parts about animal slaughter). It was simply okay, but I don’t know if I’d recommend it. (Moo)

7. The Martian by Andy Weir – Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids. In fact, it’s cold as hell. And there’s no one there to raise them if you didn’t. And all this science, I don’t understand. It’s just my job five days a week. Can’t wait for the movie. (This is the happiest day of my life.)

8. Wizzywig: Portrait of a Serial Hacker by Ed Piskor – Graphic novel that told the story (kinda hobbled together of real-life stories of multiple individuals) of Kevin “Boingthump” Phenicle, a kid who has perfect pitch, a knack for logic & computers, and a very out of whack moral compass. Very interesting, and compelling read, the ending felt…incomplete, though. (Whoa!!)

9. Life or Death by Michael Robotham – Audie Palmer breaks out of prison the day before he was going to be released, and therefore goes on the run. He’s been imprisoned for the past decade for being involved with a botched armored truck robbery, wherein several people (including most of the gang) died, and Audie’s brother got away with 7 million dollars. This started out really great, but sort of dragged near the middle, and I was actually bored by the end. (Live like there’s no tomorrow.)

10. Touch by Claire North – Great premise, and there were absolutely stunning sections of this, but overall the book just didn’t gel for me. This was about a group of people who live among us known as “ghosts” – who have the ability to transfer their consciousness into any body that they touch. If they “wear” you, then YOUR consciousness simply blacks out until the jump out. There are people who know about the existence of these ghosts, and are hunting them in an attempt to kill them all. This would most likely make an amazing movie (in the right hands) and perhaps if the novel were tightened up some (it was just over 400 pages, it could’ve easily been knocked down a hundred or so), it would have been spectacular, but as it stands it was really good, but not as excellent as her other work, “The First 15 Lives of Harry August”. (I am you.)

11. Saga (volume 4) by Brian K. Vaughn – this was just average – for Saga. Which is miles ahead of most everything else. (Sir, we need your help finding our families.)

12. Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the truth beyond Blackfish by John Hargrove with Howard Chua-Eoan – John Hargrove was an employee of SeaWorld for 15 years, and worked with the orcas that they have there, so he’s seen the effects that being in captivity has had on these highly intelligent, highly social animals. He’s also seen firsthand the soullessness of SeaWorld corporation. A great companion piece to the Blackfish documentary. (Like Takara and her mother and the other orcas.)

13. The Deep by Nick Cutter – A mysterious plague has started affecting the world. Nicknamed “the ‘Gets”, it’s a sort of rampant Alzheimer’s – at first you start forgetting little things – where you left the keys, the last digit of a phone number – but as it progresses you forget more vital stuff – like eating. Or why you shouldn’t touch fire. Eventually you forget to breathe. A possible cure (called Ambrosia) has been discovered at the bottom of the ocean, and a high-tech deep sea lab has been set up to mine the stuff. But the Ambrosia is not all that it seems… This was terrifying, at least at first. It did get a little much, eventually. If it had been trimmed by 100ish pages (or perhaps a better resolution to the mystery of the Ambrosia), it would have been perfect. (What shambled forth was unspeakable.)

14. The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith – sequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. This was a sort of Forrest Gump with vampires, which sounds ridiculous, and it was, but it was also really enjoyable. I actually enjoyed it a little more than the first one, since this covered more of America’s history. We find out the true fate of the Roanoke Colony! And how and why the Hindenburg exploded. And meet some famous vampires along the way too. Interesting, though, that Henry laid low for a good portion of RECENT history. Perhaps leaving room for another sequel? I’d be game. (It was Alexei Romanov’s card.)

15. Creep by Jennifer Hillier – this read like a novel written during NaNoWriMo. Fast-paced, but ultimately fluff. (Looking up, she caught a glimpse of tight jeans on a Triumph before it sped away.)

16. The Planetary Omnibus by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday – this epic doorstopper (over 800 pages!!) collects all 27 issues of the Planetary comic along with three crossover issues (with “Authority”, “JLA” and “Batman”). I enjoyed the main series quite a bit. It was about a group of “archeologists” who discover all sorts of strange secrets from the 20th century, and also have powers themselves. (The Drummer can talk to machines, Jakita Wagner is super strong & super fast, Elijah Snow can freeze things). They started out as stand-alones, but once the conspiracy of The Four and Elijah’s idea of extracting revenge on them kicked into action, it really got good. Then, there were the crossovers at the end --The Authority crossover bored me (I tried to read the Authority series a while back and couldn’t get into it). The JLA crossover was interesting, although a bit jarring since it sorta turned Planetary on it’s head – Bruce Wayne colored them as villains. Heh. And the Batman crossover was just silliness and dumb. I really kinda wish that the collection had just ended with the main series.If it had, it would have been this: (It’s taken a long time to get here, but you and me and her and him – we’re just getting started.) Since it ended with the Batman crossover, the ending was this: (This town is insane.)

17. The Lords of Salem by Rob Zombie with B.K. Evenson – Rob needs to stick to music. And movies? I actually haven’t seen any of his films. But definitely no more novels. The sad thing is, this seemed like it *could* have been good. The idea of there having been actual witches in Salem, Massachusetts back in the day, and they perform a curse that goes into effect 300 years later could be a really cool story. This was not. Oh well. The final word was END. Not even THE END, just END. The final sentence – (Soon they were dancing.)

18. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne – a young adult end of the world tale. After a volcano erupts on the other side of the world causes a massive earthquake and hail storm in Monument, Colorado, a group of children (ranging from some 1st graders up thru some high school seniors) have to survive trapped in a giant box warehouse store. This was definitely a quick read, and it had enough drama to keep me intrigued to the end, but, man, the writing could have been so much better. There’s another two in the series, but I don’t think I’ll pick ‘em out. (We were five.)

19. Finders Keepers by Stephen King – This was the second in the planned trilogy of Retired Detective (Ret-Det) Bill Hodges. (The first was last year’s Mr. Mercedes). I enjoyed Mr. Mercedes, but didn’t see how it could be a trilogy. I shouldn’t have worried. This installment was, in my opinion, even better than the first. The book had a different “case” (mostly) than Mr. Mercedes. (Although the actions of Brady have an impact on everyone in this story too….and it looks like the 3rd book should as well.) This one was about Morris Bellamy, who was a supremely deranged fan of author John Rothenstein’s works. In 1978, Bellamy murders Rothstein (and his two accomplices), and steals some unpublished books and about $20,000. Then he hides it all in a trunk in the woods, and gets arrested for a different crime. Flash forward 30 years, and the books and money are found by Peter Saubers, whose family is going thru some rough times, in part due to the fact that Peter’s father was one of the victims (that lived) from Brady’s joyride in Mr. Mercedes. Pete uses the cash to help his family, and holds on to the novels. Then Bellamy gets out of prison, and comes looking for the trunk. King sows some seeds for the third novel as well, which is due out next year, and I’m pretty excited about that one. (Clack.)

20. The Walking Dead volume 23: Whispers Into Screams by Robert Kirkman – the most Rick-less collection to date, the focus of this volume moved on to Carl, which is fine, since I find the generation of kids growing up in this world to be sorta fascinating. I don’t know how the Whisperers’ plot line is going to resolve, but I’m in for the long haul with this series. (Yes, Alpha.)

21. Resident Alien volume 1: Welcome to Earth! By Steve Parkhouse and Peter Hogan – an alien crash lands on earth, and while waiting to be rescued by his home planet, he blends into a small town by masquerading as their doctor, and solving murders. This was a quick read, and largely introductory – not a lot of story happens, and there’s not much conflict or suspense that he’ll be discovered. But it did seem like it may payoff in later volumes. I just don’t know if I’m interested enough to check them out. (It’s beautiful, wherever it is… and everything else can wait.)

22. Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines – How this hasn’t been turned into a summer blockbuster yet is beyond me. It’s a typical zombie apocalypse, with superpowered humans thrown into the mix. This story focused on survivors in the Hollywood area who take on a gang whose leader has the power to control the zombies. It was fun. There are, evidently, at least three more books in the series. But I may just let it rest with one. Sometimes less is more. I could see getting burned out on the idea. (We have work to do.)

23. Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson – The first collection of a comic strip called “Phoebe and Her Unicorn” that is absolutely the spiritual successor of Calvin and Hobbes. Phoebe meets a unicorn (Marigold Heavenly Nostrils) when she skips a rock across a pond and bams Marigold in the face (thus stopping Marigold from staring at her reflection and dying ala Narcissus). One wish for a ‘best friend’ later, and Phoebe and Marigold’s adventures begin. This book was charming, colorful, and very funny (I laughed out loud at least four or five times). Without a doubt, a great find. (Purrrrrr.)

24. Chew Vol. 9: Chicken Tenders by John Layman – IT could be argued that this issue was doing a lot of placeholding until the very end, and while that may be true, it was still highly entertaining placeholding. The ending though! Oh. My. I have a theory, however. One which I’m going to Rot13 so that anyone who hasn’t caught up, but wants to (and, really, Chew is a fantastic read, you should all read it!) won’t be spoiled by this issues twists. So. Znlor V’z whfg va qravny, ohg V qba’g oryvrir gung Pbyol xvyyrq Cblb. Gurer jrer gjb vafgnaprf jurer jr ner gbyq “gung vfa’g Cblb. Vg’f n qbhoyr.” – juvpu …zrnaf znlor ur qvqa’g ernyyl xvyy uvz? Ohg… abj gung V guvax nobhg vg, jul jbhyq Pbyol qb gung? V svther gung ur vf cynaavat ba srrqvat Cblb gb Gbal…fbzrubj. Ohg vg frrzf yvxr gung pbhyq unir orra qbar zhpu zber jvyyvatyl. Creuncf ur’f tbvat gb srrq uvz gb gur Pbyyrpgbe sbe fbzr ernfba? V qba’g xabj.. I guess I’ll just have to wait until volume 10 to find out. (Crack)

25. Disclaimer by Renee Knight – One of those popcorn thriller novels that compelled me to finish, despite it not being very well written, or, in post-reveal scrutiny makes a lot of sense. I’m sure it’ll be made into a movie at some point, and, depending on how well it’s done, will make millions. When I first started reading it, I was going to recommend it to Steph, but as I got closer to the end, I realized that I couldn’t. Oh well. For posterity’s sake, here’s the basic plot: Catherine starts reading a book she does’nt remember ordering, and discovers that the book is about a secret she’s been keeping for 20 years. We find out that the book was written (and delivered to her home) by Stephen Brigstone - the parent of someone that Catherine met 2 decades prior. Stephen is a genuinely creepy nutcase, and a lot of what was compelling to me were his chapters (it cuts back and forth between him and Catherine’s POV). Anyway, lots of twists, and lots AND lots of characters reacting to things that they don’t know the entire story to. Catherine’s husband is an extreme case. Really, dude? You’ve been married for nearly thirty years and you’re not going to even TALK to your wife about these things?? Sigh. (He allowed her to stroke his back and hold his head, and she was overcome with gratitude for the chance he was giving her to get to know him at last.)

26. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Like a lighthearted Otherland. With tons and tons and TONS of 80s references. This was just overall a fun read. (It occurred to me then that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the OASIS.)

27. Rover Red Charlie by Garth Ennis – Graphic novel from the creator of Preacher, The Boys, and Crossed (among others). This was a pretty short tale – told the story of an apocalypse –but through the eyes of three dogs. Rover, Red, and Charlie. Humanity for whatever reason (the dogs, of course, never find out the “why” or the “how” – and it doesn’t really matter) start killing themselves and each other. (Which, I suppose, could mean this was a crossover with the Crossed comics – but the humans didn’t have the scars from that book, so I doubt it’s meant to be) Anyway, Rover & Red & Charlie find themselves in a world without “feeders” (the Dog word for their human caretakers). Other dogs tell them about possible feeders still living out by “the Bigger Splash”, so they therefore decide to make their way out of New York City and cross the country. Only 6 issues, so it was easy to read this in an afternoon, and it was pretty good. (I’m a dog.)

28. The Dark Half by Stephen King – I’d read this years ago, figured it was time to reread it. I remember really having enjoyed it back when I first read it in ’90 or ’91, and it was enjoyable this time around, but not as great as I had thought it was. Stark – whatever he was - was simply too cartoony (he starts as an unstoppable killing machine terminator type (who somehow managed to get the upperhand on at least 4 different police officers!) and winds up …just a joke). The intriguing parts about how much of Stark Thad had in him, and how this whole thing would impact his relationship with his wife were teased at near the end, but …that was the end. I’d almost like to have a sequel to THIS rather than to The Shining, because it would be interesting to read about the fallout from all of the Dark Half’s events. (He stood there like that for a long time.)

29. The New World by Chris Adrian & Eli Horowitz – This was a strange little book. Only 200 pages long, and some beautiful and witty musings about life and love and marriage, but, man, the final half of the book was ambiguous. The novel was about Jim and Jane, a married couple. Jim dies, Jane goes to the hospital to ID his body, and discovers that unknown to her, Jim has signed up with a cryogenic corporation called Polaris, and Polaris has removed Jim’s head. We then alternate chapters for a bit between Jane in the present, and Jim waking up in the future and having to adjust to the new world. This was the beginning half of the book, and it was pretty great. Jane focuses her grief and anger toward Polaris and wanting to get her husband’s head back, while Jim is told he has to forget about his past life in order to move on to his new one. The two storylines actually intertwine, and then the last half of the book is… flashbacks? Alternate realities? I don’t even know. Certainly an interesting book, but I don’t know if it was “good”. (I’ll love you every moment of this life, but everything will change, even beyond death, and nothing will be different, never apart, and everything will change, every moment of this life, and nothing will change, even beyond death, and everything will be different, always together, and nothing will be different, even beyond death, and everything will change, every moment of this life, and nothing will change, never apart, and everything will be different, always together, and nothing will be different, even beyond death, and everything will change, every moment of this life, and nothing, absolutely nothing, will ever change.)

30. The Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka – This was great. A sci-fi thriller about a science experiment with world-changing ramifications. Eric Argus is a brilliant, but deeply troubled, quantum physicist. He conducts an experiment that eventually winds up proving that humans have souls. (Or, at least, that’s one way of interpreting his experiment’s results) This alone would have some pretty major impact on the world (and the novel touches on it, some), but things get really bad for Eric when he and his team discover that not ALL humans have souls… This book had the perfect mixture of action and thought-provoking ideas about the nature of the universe and reality. Good stuff. (I began to write.)

31. Unicorn on a Roll by Dana Simpson – second collection of the Phoebe & her Unicorn comics. This was maybe just a smidge less special than the first collection, but still extremely delightful and enjoyable. (Please say we won’t be doing this until September.)

32. The Flight of the Silvers by Daniel Price - Holy cow. This was AWESOME. 600 pages of timey wimey goodness. A pair of mysterious time travelers give 9 strangers silver bracelets that protect them from the end of our world. The “Silvers”, as they are dubbed, then find themselves in a parallel world that is similar to ours, but also vastly different. This all takes place in the first 50 pages or so. The rest of the book deals with the Silvers learning about their new home, and realizing that not everyone is happy to have them there. This book could probably be used as a ‘how-to’ guide on world building. And foreshadowing. Oh, man. SO MUCH foreshadowing. In fact, I’d say it was more like fiveshadowing. (ha ha! It’s funnier if you’ve read the book). This was the first in a planned trilogy, which is both good and bad. I would’ve liked to have it resolve more, but at the same time, if the epicness can continue, I’m fine with two more novels set in Altamerica. (She had time.)

33. Alive by Scott Sigler – Disappointing. Sigler has written some amazing stuff – the Infected trilogy was creepy, well written, and enjoyable. Nocturnal had some issues, but overall was good, too. Now Scott has written the first in a trilogy that is being pushed as a YA series….and the writing is subpar, and there are lots of YA clichés thrown in. I’ll still (probably) end up reading book 2 and 3, because I know that Sigler can do better, and this series has potential, I just wish that this book had been as good as his other stuff. (We fly.)

34. You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day – Felicia Day is a national treasure. Super breezy (and highly funny!) memoir that was an absolute joy to read. (Good talk, OXXO Felicia)

35. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay – Impressive. Disturbing. Heartbreaking. Great characters. Definitely recommended. The story is about the Barretts, an average American family of mom, dad (recently unemployed) and daughters Marjorie (14) and Merry (8). Marjorie begins to display signs of mental illness – when psychiatrists don’t seem to be helping, dad turns to a local priest. The priest convinces the father that Marjorie is being possessed by a demon, and is in need of an exorcism. That’s bad idea #1. Bad idea #2 is bringing in a film crew to document it as a reality show. It sounds cheesy when I’m writing it out, but it doesn’t play that way at all. This one is gonna stick with me for a while. (After an awkward silence, and after Rachel and I say our good-byes again, it’s cold enough that my breath is a visible mist.)

36. The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters – A comet is on it’s way to collide with the earth, and wipe out most everyone on it. With the end of the world looming, humanity is reacting in the typically expected ways – suicides galore, crimes skyrocketing, mass orgies… but what about the cops that choose to keep doing their jobs? Detective Hank Palace investigates a suicide that his spider-sense is telling him is actually a murder. This was a pretty good read, although very heavily melancholy, given the setting. It’s the first in a trilogy, I’ll probably read the other two.(I close the door.)

37. 14 by Peter Clines – Started out intriguing – average Joe moves into a new apartment in LA, starts discovering weirdness in the building, but was overlong. The big reveal of what the apartment was for was neat, but I was ready to check out of the story much sooner. (He turned the knob and opened the door to his new apartment.)

38. The Walking Dead volume 24: Life and Death by Robert Kirkman – somehow, every single character is unlikable. I used to care about Rick and company, but this volume did it’s best to remedy that. The cliffhanger it ended on was pretty drastic, but I hope that my attitude toward the protagonists improves. (Rick…what do we do now?)

39. Fair Coin by E.C. Meyers – Young Adult novel about sixteen year old Ephraim finding a magic quarter that seems to grant wishes – with consequences, of course. I wanted to like this more than I did. The premise was intriguing (especially once the plot really got going, and certain secrets of the coin were revealed) but it just didn’t quite connect with me. I don’t know if I’ll read the sequel – this was self-contained and wrapped things up enough. (“Heads.”)

40. Countdown City (The Last Policeman Book II) by Ben H Winters – further advenures of Hank Palace as the comet looms nearer. This had a little bit of ‘middle book’ syndrome going on, where the ‘case’ that Hank was working (locating a man that has gone missing) dragged a bit, but overall this series is pretty great. The world-building (of, um, the world ending.) is outstanding, in a heartbreaking sort of way, and I just find Hank a great character to spend time with. I’m looking forward to (and simultaneously dreading) the final book in the series. (What if?)

Oh!!

I also kept all the spare change I found on the ground through out the entire year. Grand total?
8 quarters
18 dimes
8 nickels
115 and a half pennies
for a total of five dollars and 35 and a half cents. Not too shabby!