Tuesday, March 08, 2016

The Month That Was - February 2016

For the bulk of February I had a sort of low-level chest/head cold that I couldn't seem to shake. Toward the end of the month I was hit with a general nausea that also lingered for quite a few days. Not sure what is going on with me. All this didn't stop me from doing anything really, but it did stop me from enjoying it.

I have now taken the snow blower out four times. I don't remember taking it out more than that last year, but it remains a blissfully warm winter by comparison the last couple of years. I ran in shorts in early December and again at the end of February. We've had a handful of days here in February that lurched in the 50s. Thank you El Nino. Feel free to stay a while. Although I suspect the nice, mild, only-need-A/C-twice-all-season summers we've had the past couple fo years may be in danger. Could be a scorcher.

Progress remains slow in my latest book project. It's always slow though, isn't it? I keep going, however, and recently turned a corner on a tough chapter I've been struggling with for a while. This is really the first time I've tried to write entirely via keyboard and it's not really working too well. Previously I was the guy at the local library or coffee shop, slouched into a chair scribbling on a big yellow pad. Things got in the computer on first revision. I think I'm going to go back to that. Although, what I am writing now is new to me and heavily plot dependent. I'm learning how to weave a complicated plot, but it's rough work.

[TV] Ex-Files
[TV] Got Milch?
[Rant] Sore Sorority
[Tech] State of Tech

[TV] Ex-Files

Here's the thing about X-files. It's always been occasionally great but mostly feeble. I granted it historic significance as the first modern show to marry quality drama to imaginative fiction -- current attempts at which are too numerous to count. That is not intended to excuse the enormous amount of crap episodes -- and there were plenty of them that were manipulative, overwrought, and little more than the characters making dire, expositional speeches at each other. The great, groundbreaking ones usually had the names of Wong, Morgan, Spotnitz, or Gilligan associated with them. The others, the crap, usually had the mark of Chris Carter on them. The six-episode mini-series that just concluded is exactly the same.

First, let me say that I have no doubt that Chris Carter is a top tier showrunner. Folks who work for him seem to think highly of him and he can clearly spot talent and get out the way enough to let it flourish. But he should never be allowed to write another script for as long as he lives. Of the six episodes he wrote three, two of which bracketed the series and connected it to the wearyingly mindless mythology that was at the core of the old series. They are not just weak, they are truly -- even offensively -- awful. They are abominations of screenwriting. One weeps for the poor actors trying to make something of the soul-crushing dialogue.

The series brought in big enough audiences that we'll likely get more, but in reality it was a disappointment. Beyond Carter's writing, the productions themselves were anachronistically staid. Did they think to experiment with camera angles, mood, lighting, pacing, or anything at all? Production was pure cookie cutter -- have they not seen an episode of Daredevil? Redemption came in the form of a couple of typically sharp scripts from James Wong and Glen Morgan, and a standout from the divine Darin Morgan -- though his script was the weakest he's submitted for X-files it was still a cut above, with his signature melancholy irony and humor.

Cliche of cliches, Carter ended it on a cliffhanger of a plotline no one cares about. Honestly, back in the day you had to crank out 20+ episodes a year so hack work was expected, but you had 14 years to generate six hours of quality and you got three; that's a sorry effort. The real cliffhanger is whether Carter will get a clue for the next set of episodes and turn all the writing over to others.

The sad state of the X-files dramatics is further emphasized by their most successful alum, Vince Gilligan, head cheese behind Breaking Bad, who just kicked off the second season of his prequel follow-up Better Call Saul and it's really turning into a Mad Men level character study. We are really getting ever deeper look at the demons and forces that push the essentially good-hearted attorney Jimmy McGill into the crooked drug lawyer Saul Goodman and then into a manager at Cinnabon. If you're not on to this yet, get there.

[TV] Got Milch?

In the wake of this report the David Milch appears to have gambled away an unimaginable sum of money and as a result is pushing hard to get a Deadwood movie going. I binged his two lightly watched follow ups to Deadwood, John from Cincinnati and Luck, to see if they held up. The answer is yes they do, provided you are attracted to Milchian drama to begin with.

This is my third viewing of John from Cincinnati and, if anything, I am even more impressed at the vision behind it. Milch always seems to start with the highest of concepts and John... was the highest of the high. Set amongst a severely dysfunctional family damaged by a chain of cruelties committed against one another, an oddball who calls himself "John" appears. He's a naive, autistic-seeming, nonsense-talker who turns out to be a Christ-like figure who impels the players to face and unravel the cruelties that lead them to where they are. I can't imagine understanding the purpose of this show other than through repeated watchings and close listening. It is dense, oblique, and utterly wonderful. It is also loaded with good humor. The acting can be atrocious -- Milch is famous for employing non-actors with a connection to the plot to have sizable roles. That's a mistake. On the other hand Ed O'Neill should have won an Emmy; Rebecca DeMornay, too. And of course, it featured that delightful Milchian dialogue. People mostly with low-end scrubs and hardcases, I remember at one point during a conversation one character was pacing about and the other tells him to "alight." Not "chill out," not "sit your ass down" -- "alight." Beautiful.

The long term plan for John... was to follow this theme of redemption to a point where John would avert a genocide, or something of the sort, through his work at healing. As with Deadwood, Milch was following the ways in which society organizes itself under unusual circumstances. Only Milch could turn that into a quality adult drama. Only Milch would even think to try something like that.

Of course, it died on the vine, as would any TV show that takes multiple viewings to "get". To me however, it was heroic.

Luck in contrast was a good deal more conventional. Centered in and around the Santa Anita horse racing track, it was certainly close to Milch's racehorse gambling, and racehorse owning, heart. On this one he shared credit with none other than Michael Mann, he of the terse, highly-styled, crime dramas (Miami Vice, for one) fame. What we have here are a whole slew of interlocking characters and themes -- too many to go through individually. Lots of star power also, as might be expected with the drawn of a Milch/Mann creation.

Two of the threads were notable for the scenery chewing actors. Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Farina as a pair of aging, shady businessmen trying to settle an old score. This was one of Farina's last works and he just plays his standard Dennis Farina role which is great to watch. Another thread featured Nick Nolte, about as grizzled as a human can be, playing an aging horse trainer with a final shot at redemption.

But the most Milchian thread is the story of four broken down losers suddenly hitting a big score. It runs nearly counter to every narrative you have ever seen in that nothing bad happens and things just get better. They start out at the bottom of the barrel, make a big win, parlay it into something bigger, make sure they are loyal and helpful to everyone who's been in their corner, and by the end of the season the were virtually fully integrated members of society, with girlfriends and thoughts of moving into a nicer place with a lawn. It is very affecting but it only jumps out at you when you think about the arc. I repeat: nothing bad happened to them. Name another narrative on TV, or the movies for that matter, where you entered at the low point and everything was up from there -- nobody got a cynical beatdown, no hopes and dreams were dashed. I've never seen anything like it and it strikes me, once again, as the sort of thing only Milch would think to do.

Anyway, Luck was killed after two horses died on the set. There were no allegations of mistreatment and it was obvious to anyone who saw the show that everyone involved with the production had a complete reverence for horses. But HBO took the coward's way out and cancelled the series.

So now we're looking at finally getting those Deadwood movies we were promised upon the cancellation of the series. And Milch is onboard, perhaps pushed to make some money lost gambling. The difficulty is rounding everyone else up. Tim Olyphant might find enough free time, but Ian McShane is a seriously busy dude with a new series starting up.

Find a way. Twist arms, grease palms; do whatever you have to. Bring back that lusciously profane, quasi-metered dialogue. I'll eat up every second of it.

[Rant] Sore Sorority

Another one bites the dust. I previously wrote of the problems at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Alpha Mu fraternities that I had minor interaction with during my college days, now The Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at Michigan has just gotten disbanded over allegations of hazing (so I guess something worse than pillow fights in nighties?) and under-aged drinking (I'm shocked, I tell you). This caught my eye because back when I was in a fraternity a few blocks down the street from them, they were considered the creme de la creme. They regularly pledged a high percentage cheerleaders and pom-pom girls and the favored daughters of Bloomfield Hills and Grosse Pointe. They were always thin and fresh and perfectly prepared. Envious girls seethed at them and frustrated boys sneered at them, but tunes would change were they to be favored with a pledge bid or a smile and a wink.

That was -- oh, let's see -- 30 years ago, so I have no idea whether their status on campus was still the same. Evidently they had been under scrutiny since 2011 -- double secret probation, I daresay -- and the impetus came from their national office so it was a matter of self-policing more than anything else, although the University forces were also involved. I can't help but be curious about what happened that would have degraded the poised debutantes of my youth into Kardashians gone wild. Of course, I don't really have to ask. Decades of increasing cultural crudity happened, just like it happened to everyone and everything else.

Still looking at a recent recruitment video, they appear little different from virtually every 20-something millennial girl I've ever met. They seem uniformly white, which in itself would probably incur the wrath of most institutions, yet insufficient ethnic vibrancy does not seem to be a formal charge. There is talk of hazing but no details, however an accusation of hazing from 16 years ago against KAT at the University of Cincinnati describes:
Kappa Alpha Theta members also shouted at new members while making them lie on the floor. In another instance, new members made animal noises until told to stop.
Am I creepy for wishing it had been something more juicy?

In the end, this looks pretty much like a win-win. I'm sure the ex-sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta will come out alright. After 30 years, they look to be the same sort of pretty, social, chippy, upper-middle-class, 20-year-old girls who have ruled popular culture since time immemorial. They'll share apartments and rented condos and have gatherings off campus where they are still the center of attention and where noble institutions won't make a fuss about their vodka and Red Bull. And the school-marms of academia will be able to pat themselves on the back and sleep easy with the righteous knowledge that they have made the world safer from the scourge of happy little girls of privilege.

[Tech] State of Tech

It's time for a new phone. I gave it my all with Windows Phone and have nothing but admiration for the work they have done. It's really a great interface and platform. But there's no denying that it's the walking dead. The lack of app support can no longer be tolerated. I can't get Lyft; I can't get Instagram; I can't get the nifty mobile app from my bank that will let me snap a photo of a check and deposit it right there. It's time to move on and wish Windows Phone the best.

That leaves an open question of where to go next. I don't really want a giant phablet sort of thing. A five inch screen is all I need; my current phone is 4.6" and that's just fine. There is an outside chance that, given a big-ass phone, I would start to do things like read Kindle on it, although I doubt I would ever watch video. But honestly, checking texts and facebook messages, maps and reviews when I travel, and the occasional dedicated app are all I do. I thought I might start using Spotify, but it's not ready for me yet (more below). I think it's more important to me that a phone fit in my pocket.

Actually my perfect phone fits in my pocket, has a SD card slot, has a replaceable battery, a great camera, and a fairly long battery life. I do not believe there is any phone that fits all my criteria. The smart thing to do is probably either get a Samsung Galaxy or an iPhone of some sort and then at least my problems will be the same as everybody's. Google's Nexus is also appealing. I would prefer to go android; I have never been for of the Apple ecosystem, but Apple's upcoming small sized iPhone might be a winner. My current plan is to wait until that's out and the early adopters pass judgement, then decide.

Meanwhile my Dell XPS 13 laptop is showing signs of being on its last legs. It has always had curious power management issues, I even replaced a battery on my own at one point, in violation I am sure of whatever warranty might have been left over. Now it's taken to dropping wifi connections -- a restart sorts it out. I'm hoping it will last me a while longer -- and I'm sure it will, but what's to follow? I have been very attracted to the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book for a while. They seem to have had some power management issues themselves, but they are now sorted. That said, the newest generation of Dell XPS 13 is getting rave reviews.

Lastly: about my brief encounter with Spotify and music streaming. There are a number of music streaming services. In the past I have used the free versions of these, but I have come to find the commercials intrusive and low quality intolerable. At first I keyed in on Pandora, but Pandora's problem is that it has a fairly small library. Like most services you can pick an artist and it will create a station of works by that artist and similar ones, but after a while I found their algorithm to be repetitive. Either that or it occasionally drifted far afield from the sound of the chosen artist.

Spotify is different. The largest of the services library-wise it depends primarily on users building playlists and sharing them. You can create artists targeted streams like Pandora, but the benefit of shared playlists is that someone one with similar tastes has already set up a nice playlist for you. You can then follow that playlist and many list authors keep actively editing and expanding their lists which keeps things fresh. I was so intrigued by this that I actually signed up for their free 30 day trial.

It didn't go so well. First despite their enormous library a couple of artists of interest to me were not available (yet oddly they were on Pandora). Secondly I ran into a fairly common bug in that occasionally playlists would just stop playing at the end of a song. It would need a manual pause/start to start playing again. Annoying as hell. Turns out it is a common complaint, but no word from Spotify even acknowledging it. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to kill my subscription before my trial is up.

I still have Amazon for streaming, which comes free with Prime, but the selection is truly lame, as are the playlists. They might improve with time. Microsoft, Google, and Apple all have streaming options, so I may start experimenting with those.

I have a closet in my basement office where I dump all my old, discarded technology. It will soon be overflowing. I have no explanation for why I hoard my obsolete technology like that. It just feels weird throwing these things out -- they must have some value, I mean, who am I, Bill Gates that I can just toss usable stuff away. Also, maybe someday Pawn Stars will give me top dollar for it.