Concerning Jim

Well, it’s another rainy day in Rainyville, South Yorkshire. Usually it’s summer-like by about now, but whatevs. Actually, while it is, indeed, usually sunny around May, towards the end of the month, around my birthday, the clouds usually open up again. Funny old thing, huh?

I’m sat waiting for a grocery order, but I’m half tempted to go out to the pub after it’s arrived and I’ve packed everything away, despite the weather. I’m very underslept, and alcohol usually helps that nicely. Oh, I don’t know. I guess I could just have a glass of something at home. Got some cans of shitty lager left too.

My mood improved by the end of yesterday. Think watching fun movies definitely helps. Last night I watched Deathstalker II, which was recommended by Red Letter Media in their Best of the Worst show. It bares almost zero connection or resemblance to the first film, which I think was an Italian film. The second one is all Hollywood. Actors actually laugh on camera at how dumb it all is, so there’s a great spirit to it. If you’re ever in a rubbish mood: Deathstalker II it, baby!

I also managed to get some audioreading done, in particular Dean Koontz’s Strangers and Stephen King’s The Stand. I’m not very adventurous these days with my reading, even though I buy audio or e-books regularly. I buy them with the best of intentions, but then just sink back into my Discworld comfort zone. Being so safe isn’t particularly mind healthy, and I believe is sapping what little creative energy I have. It’s good to change things up and have new experiences. Then again, when you have clinical depression and are a bit of a shut-in, anything to relieve the blues is tempting.

I did have another bought of anxiety when I went to bed, although listening to the “non-fiction” opening chapters of Lord of the Rings helped. Concerning Hobbits, and the like, are more fun for me than the rest of the book. Whether that’s a good thing, or a bad thing, remains unclear.

Oh, before I went to bed, I listened to a lively reading of the notoriously bad piece of fantasy literature “The Eye of Argon”. It was written in 1970 by a 16 year old and is held as the gold standard of bad fantasy fiction. I didn’t think it was all that bad, in fact it was great for a 16 year old, but I believe the problem people find with it is is that not much happens, but the author uses a lot of words (to the point where you lose track of what’s going on due to his endless descriptions). He was obviously inspired by Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft, but whereas Lovecraft is known for his exhaustingly lavish descriptions, stuff is still going on in the narrative. Again, very little happens in The Eye of Argon, but it’s a novella. But, hey, no matter how "bad" the art you produce is, you still have a one up over most people who laugh at it, because you created something. What have they done?

Anyway, I think that’s enough from me for today. Shall check in at random, peeps.

Toodles!