Insanity reigned supreme for a while there but, thankfully, I’ve managed to regain control of my life. Between work at the office, work at home, a handful of meetings, Meet-the-Creature night, a wedding, a fancy dinner and a book club gathering, Monday’s finally arrived and, believe it or not, I’m relieved. With Monday being here, I can finally pause and take a breather.
Sad, isn’t it?
To celebrate the fact that both her and I were freed from the fetters of stress, Amy and I took in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow tonight with a few friends. Great stuff. Found myself very moved, almost to the point of tears, in utter awe and wonder during the initial flight sequence in the city. The movie is drop-dead gorgeous, and the geek in me thrilled at every little technological marvel revealed (and there are plenty) and movie tributes, ranging from Star Wars to The Wizard of Oz to The Matrix to Flash Gordon, etc. ‘Tis a recommended watch, though be warned; by the time the movie ends, you still won’t give a damn about any of the characters or have felt any discernible sense of danger.
The inaugural book club meeting on Sunday went quite well. Char’s pick, Huxley’s Brave New World, prompted good discussion and a grand time was had by all in attendance. For me, it was a treat to talk freely in the company of friends, bandying around ideas, drawing comparisons to twentieth century history and to other narratives — and all the while feeling comfortable and encouraged to do so. Wonderful stuff; hats off to the hosts!
Having control of the sophomore selection for the fledgling fellowship, I opted for Moore’s Watchmen, which I hope will evoke some solid discussion when we next meet on October 23. In preparation for the date, I’ve started compiling a handful of stories and poems — Bradbury, Poe, and Shelley — to act as supplemental reading to the main text. I’ll be photocopying the necessities at work tomorrow and dropping off a half-dozen packages at the humble home of Char and Chris in the near future… likely at the same time as the requested copies of the core text. I’ve also begun drafting a list of discussion questions and topics, which I hope will prove, well, provocative.
On the topic of October 23, does anyone have any preferences regarding food or drink? Any allergies that I should be aware of? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
We’re all such geeks….supplemental reading, discussion questions, this is what I had in mind. As for food, I’m game for anything. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say that….