Skip to main content

Flops

All of yesterday was spent on jury duty. From 8 in the morning until 4:30, there was, as expected, way more waiting than anything else. Since I like to over-prepare for things that probably might not happen, when things do happen that way, the over-preparing continues.

No matter what, with jury duty, I bring plenty to read. Always.

Two years ago, I had to report for city and county only a few weeks apart. I decided to start a book with the first one and didn't pick the book back up until the second one. Thankfully I was able to finish the book and not fall asleep.

Yesterday, I decided to bring the book I'm currently reading, The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands, as well as Nathan Rabin's My Year of Flops. In hopes of reading something that would probably make me laugh early in the morning, I decided to read Nathan's book. I ended up never opening the other book all day.

My Year of Flops features a number of essays that originally appeared on the A.V. Club's website, along with new essays and interviews. I must say, I'm glad I read these essays in book form because my mind is not wired to read lengthy essays on the Internet.

The Internet is great for quick blurbs, but when there are so many quick blurbs to read on a computer that I do a lot of things with already (like listen to music, work on the next book), Nathan's column is easy to overlook. Couple that with new blurbs added almost every hour with the websites I read on a daily basis.

I half-kid that my job requires a high percentage of ADD mixed with intense focus (yes, it's possible) and that parlays into how I do things when I'm not sitting in my recliner with a book.

While I didn't finish My Year of Flops yesterday (I spent the whole afternoon listening to prosecuting and defending council ask questions), I'm happy to say I got 100 pages into it. And I'm happy to say the book is even more enjoyable than a certain other book I have on a similar topic: The Worst Movies of All Time. Way more personable and funnier, I'm glad I spent the day not trying to remember what exactly a ka-tet is, the full meaning of a jawbone used as protection, and whatever the hell happened to Detta Walker. Given the criminal case I might have been picked for, I needed a laugh.

Comments

Ted said…
Wow! Congrats on trying to read Dark Tower III. I could not finish that book (even though I really liked the other two books). For some reason, I just couldn't connect it it.

Popular posts from this blog

Go Where You Wanna Go

It's been a year since I moved away from Lakewood, and even though I could relocate to a new place as a newly-single guy, I've chosen to stay where I am. I enjoy living in North Dallas/Richardson given its central location, being not too far away from places I have enjoyed going to in my fourteen-plus years living in Dallas County. Living in Lakewood for nine years was critical for me, but I am glad I don't have homeless people going through my garbage, my street getting shut down like it's Mardi Gras on Halloween night, and I don't have to answer to the not-so-friendly landlords who bought my old place. I have a new housemate moving in at the end of the month and I have many reasons to be excited as he's been a friend for many years. Couple that with a humongous  new record store opening in nearby Farmers Branch , shows to see, and a quick trip to Los Angeles for something very cool (for which I reveal at a later date) and I'm happy to say fall is sha...

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air...

Socials

 Hey, everyone! You can find me on several other platforms: http:/ http:// themeparkexperience.substack.com http:// Instagram.com/ericjgrubbs http:// TikTok.com/@ericjgrubbs http:// threads.net/ericjgrubbs http:// ericjgrubbs.bsky.social Thanks!