Hello there!
Welcome to the new folks who have joined in the past month!
The summer has officially come to a close here in Ohio, but not before I got a “circle of life” moment in the backyard in September. A few caterpillars made meals out of our milkweed plants, which is fine, they need to eat. And they’ll grow back nicely next year to get devoured again. The one pictured here snacked quite a lot on this stalk - hope it was delicious.
What’s cool is that just a few weeks later, when I was back in the yard picking tomatoes and watching the dogs chase squirrels on the fence, this beauty shows up and hops on my finger. I’d like to imagine that these two are the same, and this was a thank you for letting them decimate my milkweed plant.
How cool is that!
WRITING
THE RED SKY is back on track! My beta readers (meaning my wife and a friend) have read the first half and given a thumbs up. I’m putting the final details on the remaining half and ending before I dive back into writing. Goal is to have the completed first draft done by the end of the year.
For THE RED SKY playlist on Spotify, here is what I added: Derelicts by Carbon Based Lifeforms, Warning Sign soundtrack by Craig Safan, Mortal Engines soundtrack by Tom Holkenborg, and The Ascent game soundtrack by Pawel Blaszczak.
RECENT READS
ZOSO/4/FOUR/IV BY LED ZEPPELIN (33 1/13 SERIES) by Erik Davis
Although I like Davis' writing, I struggled with how much about the book wasn't actually about the album. This has happened with some previous 33 1/3 books I've read - the author takes a more grand idea and applies it to the album discussion. Here, it was the Satanic Panic of the rock 'n roll and Jimmy Page's interest in the occult/Aleister Crowley. I tend towards books in the series that dig into the nuts and bolts rather than personal interpretations.
EXHALATION by Ted Chiang
The second short story collection by Ted Chiang. I liked but didn’t love the first, this one worked better for me. These operate more as thought experiments than dystopia/Black Mirror-style warnings, and the result is definitely thought-provoking. Aside from the short “The Great Silence,” nearly every story worked for me. I was a particular fan of the time-travel tale “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” and “The Lifecycle of Software Objects.”
RECENT TV/MOVIES
MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM (S.2, Hulu) - A very good second season that built tension but lost some character development.
LEGO MASTERS (S.2, Hulu) - Lots of great teams and builds.
DARK MATTER (S.1, Netflix) - Sci-fi show about six people who wake up on a spaceship and have no memory of who they are or how they go there. Really good first season, already started season two.
BROOKLYN 99 (S.8, Hulu) - Sorry for it to end, but an enjoyable second season.
SAS: RISE OF THE BLACK SWAN (Netflix) - Speed/Die Hard on a train in the UK, but not nearly as entertaining.
FILMAGE: THE STORY OF DESCENDENTS/ALL - Underappreciated creators of pop/punk get a proper deep dive.
COUNT ME IN (Netflix) - Interesting but undercooked documentary on drummers that missed out on a lot of jazz and big names. Should have been a multi-part series.
KATE (Netflix) - Another female-lead assassin flick (like Ava, Gunpowder Milkshake), but this one gets a great performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and well-done action.
MUSIC
A few reminders before you go:
READER REVIEWS! If you read and enjoyed THE BLACK SKY (or any of my books for that matter), I would be grateful if you left a positive review or a rating at Amazon or GoodReads. Reviews help other people find the book.
All previous newsletters are archived. Lots of stuff to check out including a link to the original 2011 screenplay of THE BLACK SKY, hints and helps to get started on the real work easter egg hunt teased at the back of the book, and more!
There’s a “music inspired by” soundtrack written specifically for THE BLACK SKY you can listen to at your favorite streaming sites like Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, etc.
For those that have read THE BLACK SKY, you may remember a mention or two of a bar called “The Dank,” the place Tessa worked at in college where she and Bishop met. I created a virtual playlist for this “punk rock bar,” which you can check out on Spotify.
Stay Safe!
Tim
Listen to my 90s music podcast: Dig Me Out