#273. 2011 Royal Rumble, Sigild V, Ecce Homo

#273.

I gotta say, last Sunday's Royal Rumble, and I'm talking the rumble itself, was probably among the best overall rumbles WWE has ever done. I would say it was technically brilliant, not only playing to all of the major storylines and strengths of the current roster, but even pulling a few tricks out of the bag. I mean, even Chris Masters had a spot! And speaking of spots, I know I'm a John Morrison partisan, but if it hadn't been designed otherwise, 2011 would have been a perfect year for him to win, at least with that guardrail spot of his! But the Nexus/Corre was used to perfection, John Cena, even the Great Khali. I mean, seriously, pound for pound, so much thought was put into this one, you might call it, already, a serious match of the year candidate.

And of course, Alberto Del Rio won it. I know this may seem a tad premature for a guy who has skirted more rivalries than he's had real matches in his WWE tenure, but the guy is the find of the new millennium for the company. He's the new Ric Flair. I'm talking 1970s Ric Flair, when the Nature Boy was originally making his name, establishing his legacy. I'm sure he wasn't beloved by everyone back then, but he was the best of the game, and he only got better, and more beloved, the more he stuck around. Ric Flair was supposed to be the consummate heel. He wasn't supposed to be liked. But he became one of the most beloved performers wrestling ever saw. Every major comeback he made, and there were quite a few of them, was thanks to the fact that the fans loved him so much.

Alberto Del Rio is not the Ric Flair you know. But Alberto Del Rio has all the tools to become that man. To become the man...Winning the Royal Rumble in 2011 is a step in that direction. Hell, winning at WrestleMania practically guarantees that he's there.

Anyway...that's some recent wrestling thoughts.

Now, somewhat obviously, I've got a new blog project, Sigild, my new short fiction forum, which I hope to expand, when I've properly established it, and make it the hub of a whole community. That's the dream.

I'm one section away from completing Ecce Homo. It's been a long haul, but the ride will have been worth it. I've been holding off putting Finnegan into the hands of other publishers, but I think I'm just about ready. It sounds a little weird, but I wanted total confidence in my third book before I could fully regain it for my second, which I've been trying to get published for the past year.

...Somewhere, talking about pro wrestling and literary fiction in the same blog post really does make sense...

#272. Reading List: The Clerkenwell Tales

#272.

Next on the internationally acclaimed Reading List:

The Clerkenwell Tales by Peter Ackroyd, an author I discovered by chance in college, after discovering the then-recently published Plato Papers, which quickly became one of my all-time favorite books. But I hadn't read another book by Ackroyd since, because, criminally, he's relatively hard to find, even though he is, like the equally semi-obscure Jerome Charyn, one of our finest living authors. But in recent years, I've managed to collect a few of his more recent books, and he's due up on the Reading List, least with the two of three currently on it (I've got his acclaimed London: The Biography, but that'll be for some future version of this already extensive list).

#271. Skippy Dies

#271.

Because I have a terrible, terrible condition, I just keep buying books, even though I've got far too many already. My most recent acquisition is Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, one of those literary pieces of literature that so many readers are petrified of. I came across it while I was shelving other books. Well, I shouldn't say I came across "it" so much as the three volume edition that's in the link. I'm a sucker for that sort of thing. I read 2666 and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in the same kind of edition, so I naturally associate only really exceptional books with the volume format. I don't know when I'll actually get around to reading it, but I figured it was worth noting.

#270. Mr. Anderson = World Champion

#270.

Can't believe I didn't make a note of this back on Monday, but very, very pleased that Mr. Anderson has finally become a world champion. On the whole, at least for the past year, I'd give TNA the edge as far as world champions go. Last year they stood behind AJ Styles, RVD, and Jeff Hardy, all wrestlers who have demonstrated real commitments as in-ring performers. Anderson just happens to be the first one in a while who can also be counted on to deliver as a personality. It's something the company really needs, and the way he became champion was brilliant. Those who got Genesis thought they were going to have another PPV headlined by a couple of guys fighting merely to become the number one contender, but instead got that and the actual championship match, and all three competitors, Hardy and Matt Morgan, have been involved in a program for the past few months at least, while Hardy and Anderson have been going at each other (and occasionally tagging together) for much of the past year. It's cohesive, and that's exactly what TNA needs, some real momentum. Like him or hate him, but Anderson as champion represents that.

Not to take anything away from WWE, but when the most exciting world champion you had in 2010 was Kane, then there was definitely not a lot of cohesion there. But it was definitely a transition year for both companies. 2011 should be interesting.

#269. Leo Five

#269.











Above are five really crude Leo Five cartoons. You can see for yourself how really, really crude they are. Why the heck am I even posting them? Well, long story short, I've been an amateur cartoonist pretty much my whole life. Recently, I picked up a couple of Penny Arcade collections, and that's pretty much why these are here. This is not to say Leo Five is inspired by or responding to Penny Arcade, just that you know who to blame directly. There's a cat named Tristan referenced in one of them because it's a nod to the indirect inspiration behind this whole debacle, an overheard and misheard set of names. There is obviously no one actually named Leo Five. Which means there should be a really, really crude cartoon strip named Leo Five.

...Obviously...

#268. Film Fan, Comics Reader, John Morrison, Galatea, Ecce Homo

#268.

I've finally updated the Film Fan, for the first time in about a month, all that slacking owing to computer woes. I believe I've talked computer woes here at Scouring Monk before, so Theoretical Reader will not be surprised.

I've also posted the 2010 QB50 at the new Comics Reader, my new so-and-so blog. I will hopefully have new stuff posted there on a weekly basis, both on new comics and older material.

Likewise, I will be updating the Film Fan list weekly until I reach the complete 500, and then I'll include a comprehensive listing for my favorite films from 2010, because hopefully by then I'll have seen pretty much all there was worth seeing from last year. I'm particularly anticipating I Love You Phillip Morris and The Way Back, plus finally seeing The Social Network, among others. Otherwise, Lower Decks denizens have already seen preliminary lists, both as a main article on the front page (listing my genre faves) and at the OL forums.

I'm particularly thrilled, in wrestling news, that John Morrison's push really has been advancing. The Sheamus rematch at TLC seemed like a showstopper, while his recent championship match on Raw against The Miz, by some reports, did the same thing. I expect him to be a world champion well before the end of the year, either by winning the Royal Rumble and headlining WrestleMania (dare I suggest?) or by winning Money in the Bank at said WrestleMania and cashing another contract, this time with a win.

Mr. Anderson, meanwhile, is hopefully at least as close, over in TNA, with the same objective.

Ain't it fun to have favorites?

In writing news, because I've always got a million projects, I'm working on a comic called Galatea. That's all I'm going to say about that. Also, I hope to break back into and finish Ecce Homo, but I don't want to rush it, even though it has now taken longer to write this book than Finnegan, the quest for publication on whose behalf continues. Dalkey Archive Press passed recently, and I want to thank them for their prompt and succinct notice. The dream marches on!

Oh, and this blog has moxie!

#267. Reading List: 1812 - The War That Forged a Nation

#267.

The latest on the Reading List is:

1812: The War That Forged a Nation by Walter Borneman, which focuses on, of all possible surprises in the universe, the War of 1812, perhaps the most famous but least known conflict in US history. I've got a story based on it that I hope to at least have started by 2012 (and hopefully be published otherwise before then), so this is unofficially a bit of research material, but also keeping with the trend I was speaking of earlier in the List.

#266. Reading List: Israel Potter

#266.

Next on the Reading List:

Israel Potter by Herman Melville, one of his last novels, which is partially based on a eal historical figure, a survivor of Bunker Hill, one of the defining conflicts of the American Revolution, who actually wrote his own story at the time of the monument that commemorates that battle, several decades earlier. The veracity of Potter's own narrative was suspect enough, but Melville weaves a story that may reflect on his own fallen literary status, but which provides a fascinating look into the formative United States experience. Melville himself was descended from distinguished members of this generation. Part of what's so fascinating for me is that, without intending it, I'm reading this book after Johnny One-Eye, a far more contemporary, but no less irreverent, look at the same period in history. Glossing over the rest of the Reading List, I'll be delving into a lot of interrelated works, and again, through no conscious intent.

...And I work in a bookstore where people can't even find a single book on their own...Speaking of which, I'm once again giving credit for this book (via linking) to my employer, which has the exact copy I'm reading readily available on its site, which Amazon hasn't. I may be using Borders more often for this blogging of my ongoing list...

#265. Reading List: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Mr. Palomar

#265.

Currently on the Reading List:

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, a collection of interrelated short stories painting a portrait of life on an Indian reservation. I originally read Alexie in college, a book called Indian Killer, which wasn't very good, and as it turns out, not really all that reflective of his writing. This stuff's far better, and helps demonstrate how he'd become a noted literary voice.

Previously, I read Italo Calvino's Mr. Palomar, a series of existential observations, basically thought-provoking material. I may read the author's more famous If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, a book I was supposed to read in college, but didn't get around to, later on, when I've made it further along in the list (i.e. completed it).

Melville's Typee was pretty good, but far from his most literary work. It makes sense, what happened to his career, after reading it.

#264. Hall Bros. Entertainment, Ecce Homo, Moxie, John Morrison

#264.

It's been more than a month since I last posted here! I've completed several books since 10/14, but I'll get back to that later in the week. Today I'm just gonna shoot the breeze a little. I don't know if I mentioned this already, but I got accepted into a Hall Bros. Entertainment anthology, which was pretty awesome. Work on Ecce Homo has been a little spotty of late, partly because of a trip to Maine two weeks ago. I was able to belt out five chapters in one day immediately before that, however, and have done a lot of story development for the remaining half (at least), which to me is just as good as writing (though writing is pretty good, too), given that I'm still trying to get Finnegan published. I don't know if I had done so already last month, but I might as well mention that I've sent it off to a couple of publishers, continuing a year-long effort to find a home for it.

I'm also interested in writing about Moxie! I'm in the preliminary stages of a book proposal that'll cover people's opinions about the oldest and most obnoxious more-or-less original taste soft drink in the country, which happens to be featured in my home town of Lisbon Falls, ME, both at the Moxie Store and the annual Moxie Festival. The working title is This Book Has Moxie!, while I hope to set up This Website Has Moxie! and other tie-ins as they become appropriate and/or relevant.

Really excited for the apparent push John Morrison is getting. Dare I hope for a WrestleMania main event? Also really happy that Mr. Anderson is getting recuperative time off for his concussion, glad that it's being taken very seriously, very publically. And you can't possibly blame the man for this injury.

...But, as I said, I'll be back with more later in the week.

#263. Bound for Glory 2010, John Morrison, EcceHomo

#263.

Given the result of the main event of TNA's Bound for Glory, and who I've been talking about in this blog, you might assume that I'd be a tad upset. But it couldn't have been more brilliant. In fact, the heel turn and championship turn by Jeff Hardy may be exactly what the company needs to reach the next level. This is a purely storyline piece of work that seems to have connected with the target audience. It isn't merely making someone champion who'll please that audience, but rather, and unlike the Main Event Mafia or Jeff Jarrett's runs, not a contrived attempt to elicit heat. This is exactly like Hulk Hogan's NWO moment. Hardy has a legitimate claim to be TNA's Sting, actually (A.J. Styles being, as the company finally realized, its Ric Flair). While he hasn't been an original company man, a lot of his biggest moments as a solo competitor are going to be remembered as a part of the TNA roster. Anyway, this is good, good news, even for Mr. Anderson, who stands poised at least to stick around the main event, because a lot of the work he's done with the company to date has been with Jeff Hardy. So I'm pleased on a number of levels.

John Morrison, meanwhile, finally seems to be capitalizing on his unique parkour technique, much as Daniel Bryan has been benefiting from all the goodwill he generated as the underrated "rookie" in the first NXT season (but see how well that first season has turned out for pretty much everyone involved?). I think, barring unforeseen circumstances, this will finally push him to the next level. Same with former partner The Miz, who seems to be building some legitimate momentum of his own, most notably on this past Raw, when he actually stood toe-to-toe with John Cena, who himself is reaching another platform by actively working with a new generation of competitors. It's the exact opposite of what Randy Orton is doing right now (and ironically, how he got back to the championship in the first place, because of his apparent willingness to do this; his lack of actual commitment to any one new star has hindered his own efforts), and why Orton's title reign is completely meaningless.

***

As I mentioned recently, I've started writing my third book, Ecce Homo, and once again, it's turning into a revelatory experience. Everything I learned the first two times, it's helping to craft something unique and special. I can't speak highly enough about NaNoWriMo, the challenge that provided the impetus of the three acts that comprise my first book. last year I challenged myself to do it over the course of two months, and it worked out really well. And so I'm doing that again, and finding new ways to represent my style of writing. I'll know just how successful it is if I complete the book by the end of the year, which is my goal, and should be easily attainable. I'm giving myself more time this time. I like the pressure keeping a small timetable provides, but I'm realizing, more and more, I can be a little lax, and it's not the end of the world, or the book. I'm a writer who likes to think. Sometimes that means I get very little writing done. But more importantly, it helps bring on new depths and innovation to my writing, which are traits I value almost to anything else.

I'm also working on a story called The Two Caballeros, in conjunction with a comic called Liberation, TX. I'm always ambitious. I figure at some point, all this hard work is bound to pay off...

#262. Reading List: Typee

#262.

Next up on the Reading List:

Typee, Herman Melville's first and most popular book...y'know, in his lifetime. I've read most of his later works (still haven't gotten around to his poetry, which is what he sustained himself on creatively during the last part of his life), and recently picked up a collected edition with his early works, so at some point, I will finally be able to say, I've read all of Melville. And darned proud of it.

#261. Ecce Homo

#261.

Would you believe that I started writing another book? Crazy, I know, because I have written two already, and neither have in the technical sense been published. But when the idea of Ecce Homo occurred to me, I couldn't resist. It combines a recurring element of Finnegan with my inability to write typical descriptive fiction. In other words, it's another stream of consciousness kind of story. It's fun to get back into what amounts to my routine of writing long fiction, which was honed pretty well over the course of the time it took to write Finnegan and Cloak of Shrouded Men, the first drafts of which took a combined five months. Not that I'm bragging...

...Or, shooting myself in the foot. Where's all the wood in the internet?

#260. Reading List: Dave Barry Slept Here

#260.

Next up on Reading List!

Dave Barry Slept Here, and I forget the author, but he's going to show up a bunch more times on the list. I've been reading him for more than a decade now. Never gets old. I'm also constantly coming up with word groupings that Would Make A Great Name For A Rock Band. Kurt Vonnegut and the Slaughterhouse Fives, for instance...

#259. Reading List: On Writing

#259.

Next up on the Reading List:

On Writing by Stephen King, someone I have been inadvertently chasing most of my life. I attended the same high school, the same college, moved to Colorado, ended up reading after years of believing he wasn't for me. I had the teacher who famously told him he couldn't write. Well, this book probably explains, or makes that belief, all the more baffling, because here he finally gets to explain what he thinks writing is all about. So far, I've been able to ascertain that perhaps Mr. King and I have a few different ideas about that. I still think he's a pretty good writer, but maybe this book helps explain why he isn't perhaps a little better, or more consistent. I now believe he's as motivated by all the B-movies he watched growing up as by a desire to write legitimate fiction. I don't mean to sound like I'm knocking him, because The Stand, among the many things he's written that I've loved, is among my all-time favorites of any author.

Anyway, that aside, I have to report having given up on China Mieville's The City & The City. Turns out he had a far better concept than he could write.

#258. Reading List: The City & the City

#258.

Moving right along, the next book in my
Reading List is:

The City & The City by China Mieville, which just won a Hugo. Given this and Sacred Games a few months back, you might think I read a lot of detective fiction, but I really don't, only when it has literary or historic (The Maltese Falcon, which is another one I read recently-ish) value. Anyway, I work at Borders, and the biggest perk is the occasional advanced reader I get to put my grubby little hands on. Usually I read those at work, on my lunch breaks, but this one I've been saving, and more than a year later, have finally gotten around to.

Age has only made it appreciate in value, thank you very much.

#257. Reading List: The Great Snape Debate

#257.

Up next on my Reading List is:

The Great Snape Debate (Orson Scott Card, Amy Berner, Joyce Millman), a collection of essays probing the character of the famous anti-hero from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. (Strangely, Borders printed it exclusively, but only has it available at its Marketplace, while Amazon has it available, and I could have used that page, which I typically do in these entries.) I don't read a lot of scholarship on literature, possibly because in school, even though the teachers were always pretending that they wanted my thoughts, they really wanted a reformatting of some other people's, which I never understood. But I do like essays, and this one is a pretty ambitious collection, one of the great artifacts of the craze over the boy wizard that by all rights should only be in its infancy. I'm of the mind that Harry is a creation for the ages, and something like this is an early testament, beyond the fan commentaries and reports of all the initial enormous sales, that his world has plenty of critical merit as well.

#256. Fan Companion, PWI Female 50, Snape

#256.

Fixed Fan Companion's format a little. For some reason, the archive links had looked terrible previously, but now they're at the bottom of the page and look better there. It may prove pretty interesting once I begin the Film Fan in a few weeks. I plan to detail 50 movies a week, broken into 25-block intervals, with a total of 500, plus (as I'm currently planning) a few spotlight posts for particular trends within the list.

***

So I missed the PWI 500 issue with my subscription, officially. It shipped last month, and I got my first issue a few days ago, which has the Female 50 (Michelle McCool deserves the top spot, and she did last year, too, even though she didn't get it). But I finally took a look at the ranking, and I'm pretty pleased with the names I was looking for. AJ Styles, as I noted a few months ago, certainly deserved his top spot as well. In addition, CM Punk, John Morrison, and Mr. Anderson also got some pretty good spots, which I was happy about. This is weird, because usually I don't end up agreeing with just about any of the rankings (I could provide links for the posts in years past where I've talked about them, but I'm lazy).

I will have to acquire the issue at some later date.

***

Having finished Jerome Charyn's brilliant Johnny One-Eye, I've now moved on to the Borders compilation The Great Snape Debate (which this post will be below very shortly in my usual Reading List entry), which has gotten me thinking. (And this is also pretty neat timing, because I'll be reading this shortly before the first half of The Deathly Hallows movie is released in a few months, just as the book was released in anticipation of Rowling's final effort.) I think I actually think better of The Little Book however conveniently Selden Edwards ended up tying his story up, because it still calls to mind some pretty deep ideas about the meaning of impressions. Snape turned out to be a good guy after all, but this book reminds its reader that some people weren't as convinced as others that this would end up being the case. Like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (or even All Star Batman and Robin, Frank Miller's extreme, polarizing take on the early Dark Knight), "when the legend becomes fact, print the legend." People like to hold onto their impressions, because it's far easier to accept things in simple terms than to consider their complexities, no matter what they may be.

***

Anyway, that's all for now. I can understand the allure of writing everything you think when you're on the web; even though I've maintained this blog for eight years, and have a Facebook, I still don't see the point. If I wanted to do that, I'd keep a journal, and let history judge it...

#255. Mr. Anderson, Film Fan

#255.

Really pleased that Mr. Anderson emerged as the only winner of the semi-finals at No Surrender last night, which means he is technically the headliner of Bound for Glory next month. If he faces Kurt Angle or Jeff Hardy, there are already built-in possibilities for both, so that's all the more awesome. This is by far the closest he's ever gotten to a company building itself around him.

I was reading an anecdote in a recent WWE book where Santino Marella remembers Anderson and Randy Orton (who would later go on to put the final nail in Ken's career in that company) hilariously sing along to "Bohemian Rhapsody," which reads so more interestingly and funny when you consider where that particular relationship ended up (read that other parenthetical phrase again).

And so it's all the better knowing that he's finally made it, and unlike Christian or Angle, he's not a former WWE star who was hopscotched to the top (Hardy is the only other one I can think of right now, and there are some big reasons why that would be), so his ascension would truly be earned, not just from his prior accomplishments and popularity, but for what he's been doing all year long.

I understand that there's lots of controversy around him, some of which explains why he's in this kind of position to begin with, the injury and drug issues (which might be tied up as cleanly, the former anyway, as he sometimes insists, and which might explain the latter as well, which he would be stupid to try and explain, one way or another, because right now, no one would really want to hear it in any kind of positive sense), but I've always stuck behind him. He just seems like an all-around nice guy (despite being an Asshole), who has long deserved success in the ring.

Hell, if anything, any obvious comparisons to The Rock are only intensied in that regard. WWE tried to push him so hard so fast, the fans had little time to adjust, and neither did he, which I think is what really screwed him over. But because he absolutely knew his character, there was no way of outgrowing that original resentment by becoming his own version of The Rock. WWE gave up, focused around a few of the guys they had already been working with, and so he had to look for other opportunities.

Thank god for TNA.

And thank god...for Miiiisterrrr Anderson.

Anderson.

***

Sorry, got a little carried away with that one.

Anyway, I finally finished ranking the 500 movies that will be featured in the Film Fan Companion, the follow-up project to the Star Trek Fan Companion I've been doing since June. I had the top hundred ranked for a while, but when it came to the next four hundred, even I was a little daunted, and I've been doing a version of this list for about the last five years. 500 will be the biggest yet, but I feel pretty confident about it. But there'll be more information on that later.

#254. Reading List: Johnny One-Eye

#254.



The latest in my Reading List:

Johnny One-Eye, by Jerome Charon, who appears to be another of the wildly unappreciated literary greats working today. The book itself is an irreverent look at the Revolutionary War from the perspective of George Washington's bastard son, who happens to call a brothel in Manhattan known as Holy Ground home. It's such fresh writing, whatever you may find offensive about that, you really shouldn't care, because this book is wickedly good.

The Little Book by Selden Edwards, meanwhile, was pretty good, but probably was better at one of the many drafts ago. Edwards buffed the whole thing into such a streamlined product after decades of working on it that he simplified everything to unbelievable proportions. Or at least that's my working theory. Still worth a look, however.

#253. Modern Woe, A.C. Hall, Paperback Reader?, Mr. Anderson

#253.

I recently completed the "official" tally for Modern Woe, at a hundred poems, but I recently learned that a "lost" poem was posted at the Fan Companion in error, so that makes it 101, and then I'll be writing one more, "Being 30," to complete the "Pulling 30" sequence, after I reach, well, 30 years old, next Wednesday to be precise.

So that's pretty awesome. My adventures trying to convince A.C. Hall to publish me in his new venture weren't completely for naught. I decided I liked writing the style I'd adopted for the two attempts so much that I will probably be doing more of that in the future. My latest one, Bound by Blood, can be found at the Comic Book Resources forums, where I post as Tekamthi. I don't get there often, unfortunately, but recently figured it'd be good exposure for my writing.

I may start writing for Paperback Reader again soon. Bart Gerardi's long-standing comics site recently converted to Wordpress, and I've been mulling going back for a few weeks now. I already like Wordpress, because that's what Lower Decks uses (where I'm currently posting the Fan Companion simultaneously, which is only about eleven Star Trek films away from completion; I'll be working on my 500 Film Fan Companion afterward).

Now that RVD is no longer TNA champion, Mr. Anderson is in a good spot to finally get the big belt. I hope it happens.

Summer Slam looked like a really good PPV, so I'm looking forward to seeing that when it hits DVD. Chris Jericho's set is due about the same time, so I'll have some fresh wrestling to enjoy.

Did I mention how glad I am that Daniel Bryan is back?

#252. Ricky Steamboat, Mr. Anderson, Black Harvest

#252.

I did get a lot of wrestling DVDs recently, including the Ricky Steamboat set (the guy was like the opposite of Chris Benoit; and sorry, Jericho, but the Backlash match was pretty good, too), and some TNA collections, including the "Cross the Line Volume 3" set (worth it for Styles/Daniels/Joe II and, if you're a Mr. Anderson fan, Against All Odds), and the set collecting the company's first three official PPVs (which are more pleasantly entertaining than I would've thought).

I've got to reference Mr. Anderson one more time this post, since Randy Orton recently made it his business to once again confirm apparent WWE beliefs that Anderson doesn't belong in professional wrestling, mentioning the incident in Anderson's final night with WWE that he didn't protect Orton enough. Dude, Orton, if you weren't ready to come back yet, you shouldn't have come back. I mean, Anderson was literally returning from injury himself that very night, and contrary to popular belief, he came out just fine. And to claim he should be looking for another career is in pretty stark contrast to his success with TNA in the last six months. The dude has literally proven that he belongs in the main event, and has for a long time. If he doesn't become world champion soon, it's because he literally doesn't need it anymore.

Which is more than can be said for Orton, who has thrown away a face turn that should have taken his career to the next level. I'm as big a fan of Orton as anyone could be, but he's done nothing since 2009, which is just mind-boggling.

It's not as if WWE hasn't given him the opportunity, which is more than could be said for John Morrison, who like Anderson is a textbook case of WWE looking a gift-horse in the mouth.

Seriously, whatsupwitdat?

***

So when not blabbing about wrestling, I also strive for a writing career. The latest shiny idea to come my way is Black Harvest. I legitimately think this may be the one. I would call it my version of Lost, Inception, and Grant Morrison, with no filters needed, and no excuses. Seriously, if I can pull this one off, I think I finally have my ticket.

Corridor, the last idea I talked about here, isn't gone, but has been placed on the back-burner. It may or may not have been a revenge plot against the diabolical A.C. Hall, besides...

#251. QB Midyear Report

#251.

Posted the big QB Midyear Report over at Lower Decks, a ranked listing of my 75 favorite series, stories, and general comics from the first half of 2010, which has been pretty eventful, from the news that the top two books, G. Willow Wilson's Air and The Great Ten have been prematurely cancelled, to waiting since February to finally getting my hands on Andi Ewington's [forty-five]. Anyway, hopefully worth a look for comics fans.

#250. Reading List: The Little Book

#250.

The next book on my Reading List:

The Little Book, by Selden Edwards, one of those truly fascinating books with a fascinating story behind it, too. Edwards is a first-time novelist, and he's been working on this one for decades, a time-travel adventure with true literary ambition.

Gods Behaving Badly, meanwhile, was absolutely awesome.

#249. Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Projects, Inception

#249.

So I ended up subscribing to Pro Wrestling Illustrated, a move I was somewhat reluctant to make, but the PWI 500 is coming up and they've apparently put A.J. Styles on top (a good move). Wal-Mart (at least my local one) stopped carrying the magazine, and I think the subscription price was half off, so it seemed not entirely crazy at the time. I guess I'll find out.

I also got the Ricky Steamboat DVD (at said Wal-Mart), so I look forward to watching that, and got to watch some Raw on Telemundo today, so I guess it was good a time as any to lead off another blog with wrestling.

I've got a comic brewing tentatively called Corridor that is serving as my latest hope at breaking in. Who knows? I'm still trying to sell Finnegan, or The Second Coming (though for what it's worth my mom seemed less enthusiastic about this one than she did about Cloak of Shrouded Men, and so has my older sister, who has been extremely reluctant about reading it, but this one's a lot more cerebral, philosophical than even the first book was). And I'm still writing poetry.

I've taken to the idea that it's better to live in one's own reality than to try and impose yourself on someone else's. It's almost the message of Inception, so I'm not entirely crazy. Or maybe I am.

Time will tell?

#248. Reading List: Gods Behaving Badly

#248.



Up next on the Reading List:

Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips, a comic novel looking at your familiar Greek pantheon in modern times, the first book not to be epic length in ages, but still quite entertaining. I didn't really know what to expect from this one, other than a premise I found charming, but the writing really is quite good.

Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games, was really quite excellent.

#247. Fan Companion, Modern Woe, Prod Oasis, A.C. Hall, Wrestling

#247.

The Fan Companion is certainly charging ahead full steam, in case you were wondering (and not reading!!!), while Modern Woe chugs along to a hundred (67 and counting). Soon I'll be launching another series of poems within that one dedicated to philosophy, following the recent "Coyote, Trickster" set. You can thank Fred Van Lente and his Action Philosophers comic for that.

I picked up an issue during a binge yesterday at Bargain/Escape Velocity Comics in downtown Colorado Springs. By "binge" I mean I got forty comics, but they were twenty-five cents each, so it wasn't too bad, and I got a lot of great stuff while I was at it.

I'm still contemplating ways to break into a professional writing career, which is like a second job, one I've had since 2004, after graduating from UMaine. If I actually chronicled every attempt, it would make me look quite foolish indeed. But I keep myself sane by working on wholly personal projects in the meantime, which I sometimes try and adapt for public use as well. That's how I came upon Pacific Rim and Prod Oasis, E.N.G., prequel comics for a sci-fi creation I've been working on for fifteen years. Also, I think I want to do a comic based on Sparx, a somewhat obscure DC character at this point.

But as I said, I'm always working on ideas.

I'm also in the curious position of submitting stories to a former writing partner of mine, A.C. Hall, from the aborted Dead Letter Quarterly days, which is nearing three years of age (strange enough to say). He and his brother rejected my first story, "Insomniac's Dream," even though to my mind it fit perfectly (if by "perfectly" one assumes the linkage to "my mind," which hardly ever seems in sync with the rest of the, er, world) with the anthology theme they'd concocted.

In wrestling news, I think things are going fairly well, a slow development of things I've written about in the past. John Morrison is still making his case for superstardom, Mr. Anderson is making himself a TNAdiot, and Bryan Danielson (I really wish he'd've worked out in WWE) hopefully gets to join Desmond Wolfe soon.

I went through a recent spurt of watching WWE DVDs covering old promotions, including the AWA and ECW. I'm looking forward to picking up the new Ricky Steambeat set, and am really pumped for the Chris Jericho one being released later this year. I've been waiting for that one for a long time now.

Anyhoo, soonish I'll be updating the blog with my latest Reading List book. Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games has been amazing.

#246. Modern Woe, Fan Companion

#246.

This is just to say I finally wrote and posted the promised "Advanced Genius" poem at the Modern Woe blog. Also, I'm now several entries into Fan Companion.

As always, still working on many things besides...

#245. Fan Companion

#245.

I'm about to launch what I hope will be an expansive look back at Star Trek, called the Fan Companion, which succeeds my experiences with Section 31/Lower Decks, where I'll be simultaneously be posting the same material. I've been a part of the Lower Decks community for the past ten years, but I'm ready to branch off, move on as it were, to a more independent venture, but right within the confines, for now, of the same things I've been doing. As I said, I hope to expand, but the work has to start somewhere.

I'll have more to say as it becomes relevant...

#244. Modern Woe, Pacific Rim, Lost, Fringe, Heroes

#244.

The Modern Woe blog continues, for those interested in existential poetry. After the smashing success of "Living the New Fade," I'm going to be working on another long-form poem, "Advanced Genius," which continues on one hand a sequence that's dominated the last few weeks of the blog, "Book Terrors...!" while also building on the coincidental discovery I made the other week of another kindred soul in Jason Hartley, who wrote The Advanced Genius Theory, based on conversations he'd had with a friend for years, which, well, advanced to the point where he had to write a book about it. Basically, Hartley argues that "genius artists" like Bob Dylan and Orson Welles, who begin their careers with a tremendous amount of fanfare, hype, and acclaim, are over time perceived to have lost whatever mojo made it possible in the first place, when what's really going on is that they've surpassed their audience's ability to keep up with them, pioneers who continue to trailblaze long after the necessity to distinguish themselves. Anyway, I read the book in a day, which itself was pretty remarkable, and it's continued to be an inspiration, as well as the David Lipsky book Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, which has given me extensive insight into the late author David Foster Wallace, whom I seem to disagree with on any number of philosophic levels. But then, he was a successful writer, and I'm not.

Meanwhile, I think I've discovered yet another angle to launch one of my oldest projects with. It can't be spoiled by saying the working title is Pacific Rim, and happens to star a guy named Satoshi Kojima, a name that also happens to be shared with a professional wrestler.

I believe my association with the Section 31/Lower Decks.com community is really nearing its end, which is a pity, because I really like writing, and that's been the most consistent place to write at that I've had for the past decade. You can catch my recent columns (HYGOTS) and reviews of Lost and it's finale, "The End," in addition to my thoughts on the second season of Fringe and what turned out to be the final hours of Heroes.

I'm thinking of ways to parlay my interest in movies a little more extensively, in terms of the public. That may be the project that succeeds the S31/LD experience.

#243. Reading List: Sacred Games

#243

The Reading List continues with:

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra, which follows some of my previous excursions into Indian literature (such as The Satanic Verses and In Hanuman's Hands), and is the final of four epic-length books in a row. It was one of the books that caught my eye when I first started working in a bookstore, which I've found as a good way to catch some of the most interesting yet seldom talked about books being published today, at least as far as literary fiction goes. I still haven't gotten that much further along in my theoretical return to sci-fi/fantasy material, though I've discovered a title or two.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, meanwhile, has become one of my favorite books, so that's how the last one turned out.

#242. WrestleMania XXVI Thoughts

#242

It's worth noting that "Living the New Fade" was written and posted over at the Modern Woe poetry blog.

Finally got my copy of the WrestleMania XXVI DVD from Amazon the other day. John Morrison and Big Show made some good work in a relatively short opening match. Probably the most dramatically-filmed match of the night, surprisingly. The Money in the Bank was interesting in that Evan Bourne was a surprise highlight. I haven't gotten to see a lot of him, whether he's been on ECW or Raw, because during his WWE tenure, I haven't had cable. The Undertaker/HBK match was slightly disappointing, because it followed the finisher escalation pattern a little too closely, but was still pretty cool. Jericho might have had his best WrestleMania match. The Hart-McMahon fight was like watching Angle-Guerrero from Summer Slam 2004 all over again, insofar as the relentlessness of it. Gail Kim was the hottest Diva, with Kelly Kelly not far behind. Alicia Fox apparently thinks she's Monty Brown. Vickie Guerrero, who has never and will never be a wrestler, manages to do just the right amount of blundering. Can't forget to mention Michelle McCool, who is my favorite Diva. Randy Orton probably also had his best WrestleMania, but he's been surprisingly good. It's funny to hear the crowd cheer his villainous behavior these days, just like his old friend Edge. CM Punk delivered a WrestleMania-caliber sermon. Rey Mysterio made an ironic Na'vi. It's still weird to think of Batista as anything but a crowd-favorite, because before his early-2006 injury, he was vastly more popular than Cena. Nice honor guard intro, though. Not much to say about Triple H and Sheamus.

The Hall of Fame this year was, thanks to Ultimate Warrior, dominated by old people, which was pretty evident during the ceremony. But it's great to celebrate some of the history that's made today's wrestling possible, as Gorgeous George's segments certainly made clear.

#241. Modern Woe Continues

#241.

As goes the current poetry cycle, Modern Woe, I'm about to submit another lengthy piece that steps outside the bounds of the normal process (which is to basically write more or less on the spot, at the New Post prompt, which is something I mess around with every now and again, but rather actually deviate from; the last time was with "The Index" during the We'll See cycle). I've got to spend some real time on "Living the New Fade," because it's the latest in a series of poems I've been writing since 2003, and it's what I would consider my statement about modern times, the world we live in, which in one sense is exactly what I try to do with all my poems, but with the "New Fade" ones, I'm trying to define what exactly defines our times, and I've had it that we live in an age of increasingly fluctuating rules. I've been reading Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, David Lipsky's book about a road trip he took with the late David Foster Wallace, an author who at least in these interviews comes off as something who put a lot of thought into his worldview. I've been hesitant to read Infinite Jest, Wallace's best-known work, because in his writing, and even his ideas about writing, I don't know that I necessarily agree with him, but as a fellow thinker, I think we're more or less kindred spirits, which doesn't happen all that often for me.

Anyway, just wanted to write some about that.

#240. 2010 Draft

#240

Must...comment...on 2010 WWE draft...

The moves this time weren't all that huge, but they were pretty significant.

RAW
Chris Jericho - Biggest move, probably, but he's been on both brands rather prominently since his return.

Edge - Since this comes so soon after returning, doesn't really count as the big move it might have been. But it's nice for him to be back here, I guess, first time since he's really established himself post-Cena.

John Morrison - Could be a big move, if they want to use him to a significant degree, but we'll see.

R-Truth - Even though he's basically in the same position as Morrison, he stands to gain more, because there aren't as many expectations here.

Great Kali - Why not?

Hart Dynasty - I guess they made it official.

Ezekiel Jackson - Injuries kept him from Smackdown. So this makes even.

Goldust - Makes even.

SMACKDOWN
Big Show - Same as Jericho.

Christian - Could be huge. He's this brand's Morrison draft pick.

Chris Masters - Could benefit much in the same way Dolph Ziggler has - in the long-term.

Kofi Kingston - Good timing, anyway. Could help him reach the next level. Okay, so that makes two Smackdown draft picks who resemble Raw's Morrison move.

MVP - Good move here. Positions him to feud with Jack Swagger. Hopefully that's the plan.

Kelly Kelly - Yay. :)

Chavo Guerrero - Right back home.

Cody Rhodes - No real benefit, which is not a knock on Rhodes. Might be another Ziggler.

Hornswaggle - No real change.

Rosa Mendes - Blank slate here.

Anyway, it's funny that the TNA-diots (a term of affection) still believe in their product as strongly as they do, even with the apparent loss in the new Monday Night War. What TNA lacks is a strong buzz star, which isn't to say they don't have wrestlers capable of providing that, but that they aren't champion. Nothing against AJ Styles or RVD, but they're more the kind of guys you'd want to appease existing wrestling fans than making new ones. Hey, guys, you've got Mr. Anderson, remember...? This would be a great time, now that he's firmly re-established, to give him what he was always denied in WWE. Maybe I'm just biased...

Still launching plans to take over the world via words. Revamped the Terror of Knowing collection, reworking a number of poems into single larger ones. Some comic book projects also look promising, at least as far as I consider them. But that's always the case. I'll continue updating with more specifics as they become relevant...

#239. Reading List: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

#239



Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke,
is the latest book in my Reading List. The fourth of four epic-length books in a row, it concerns the fate of magic in a modern world, perhaps a commentary on the phenomenon of Harry Potter and how it became such a huge success, because everything we know now seems so far removed from our everyday lives (or is a cultish sub-set of individuals who are very much part of the same kind of trend that gives us "vampires" who feel compelled to drink blood...y'know, just because; the Goths). Looks like it's going to be very British and very awesome. I chose for the picture in this post to go with the edition I'll be reading, which I picked up as a bargain book at Borders shortly after I transferred to the Colorado Springs location I've been at since late 2007. Subsequent selections in the list aren't going to be so well-known, so appreciate your awareness while it lasts...

#238. Against the Day

#238

Switched up the template of the blog and updated the links again, this time spotlighting all four poetry cycles, my book, and two websites where I can be regularly found. Didn't I recently have myspace, facebook, and twitter info there, too? Well, I guess that doesn't matter as much. I started this process because Blogger promised me easy access to Amazon, but couldn't find that. Still can't. Don't know why...

Finished up Thomas Pynchon's fantastic Against the Day, which ended up being an inspired choice to follow-up Roberto Bolano's equally ambitious 2666. Against the Day concerns the fortunes of the Traverse clan during the years mostly falling between the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and WWI, cleverly juxtaposing the frantic maneuvering of that age with our own, ambitions both stifled and explored in the face of massive change and upheaval, a world turned upside-down and hardly knowing what to do with itself. Oldest of the clan Frank becomes embroiled in the need to act as a surrogate patriarch after Webb Traverse is accused of being the day's most infamous anarchist and is summarily executed at the behest of tycoon Scarsdale Vibe. Reef is the one who takes up the charge of the father. Kit seeks to expand the family's fortunes. And Lake is the daughter left behind and with cruel irony, shack up with the man who pulled the trigger. Throughout the course of its 1,100 pages, the book makes you wonder what would happen if this family were around today. In many ways, our world is nothing like that one. In others, it's a wicked parallel. The anarchists of yesterday make a mockery of the terrorists we know today, rebelling against a growing stagnation rather than crudely reacting against it (perhaps, hence the title, "Against the Day"). Great men like Nikola Tesla are ignored in favor of capitalist progress, which does nothing to crush the innovative spirit that eventually sees emerging technology of yore surpass our wildest dreams in the darkest of corners...Anyway, this is a great book that truly needs to be discovered, from a master who should not be taken for granted, but there he is all the same, masked and anonymous...Pynchon is to novels as Grant Morrison is to comics, a pure imaginative spitfire who's difficult to appreciate but who is doing the most relevant and active work in literature today.

#237. Modern Woe

#237

I finally started the fourth web idylls, Modern Woe. Concurrently, I'll be working on a separate collection on my personal computer, The Alernative is a Chronicle. I also think I'll be fishing an earlier collection, The Jingle Jangle, around, in a new attempt to be a published poet of his own books. That'd be pretty awesome. But as "Modern Woe" (and ED) says, it's not just about recognition. Maybe I'm just crazy...

#236. WrestleMania 26, DVDs

#236

WrestleMania 26 was last night, and there were a few surprises. Wasn't expecting Jack Swagger (was anyone?) to win Money in the Bank. Didn't expect the unified tag team match to be a glorified squash match (guess either John Morrison can forget his push or expect it postponed indefinitely), but at least it was on the card (I guess), plus a bonus divas match that has little consequence (like last year's). Jericho winning, Punk losing, both surprises. Good for Jericho, too bad for Punk. Hart Dynasty finally participating in the Hart/McMahon feud was nice. Orton over Dibiase & Rhodes and Triple H over Sheamus were somewhat surprising. Undertaker/HBK as the main event was a pretty awesome idea. This will probably be pretty interesting to watch when I get the DVD in May...

I did end up getting the Amazon shipment of Genesis and Elimination Chamber on Friday, which helped build my enthusiasm for last night (when I watched WrestleMania...21). I'm anticipating the DVD releases of Against All Odds and Destination X so I can continue to follow the remarkable early run of Mr. Anderson in TNA as well as track the development of the Hogan Era...

#235. WrestleMania XXVI, Three Stooges Syndrome, Jennifer Moxley

#235

This is going to be one of the larger WrestleMania cards in recent history:

Edge vs. Jericho
Cena vs. Batista
Hitman vs. McMahon
Triple H vs. Sheamus
HBK vs. Undertaker
Money in the Bank
CM Punk vs. Re Mysterio
ShowMiz vs. Morrison/Truth
Orton vs. Dibiase vs. Rhodes

as well as some possible divas match. Makes me worried that the tag team match will once again be relegated to "DVD bonus match," which is the last thing I'd like to see happen to John Morrison. Maybe the theoretical divas match will get the "honor." At any rate, with about a week to go now, I do think this is probably the best pound-for-pound WrestleMania card I've seen, no fat, even with just about everyone and their mother participating. So, congrats to that much.

***

I'll be getting Genesis and Elimination Chamber probably later this week, early next, so I'll get to have some feedback from the actual cards soon. Excited about that. Also seemed like a good time to finally pick up the Monday Night War DVD.

***

As far as my writing "career" goes, I think I've been in Three Stooges Syndrome, not really being able to put the full effort behind any one project because I've always had so many: trying to get poetry published, trying to get fiction published, trying to break into comics. Is it really any wonder that I haven't gotten any of these goals accomplished yet? Anyway, still plugging along...

***

Jennifer Moxley, an old English professor of mine from UMaine, either doesn't check her e-mail very often, or *sniff* has already forgotten about me...

***

That's all for now!

#234. WrestleMania XXVI Takes Shape

#234

I'm liking how WrestleMania XXVI is shaping.

Edge vs. Chris Jericho
This one puts Jericho back in the main event, for the first time since 2002, when he became glorified fodder for Triple H's big return. It works for both wrestlers nicely.

John Cena vs. Batista
Again, it works for both wrestlers. Cena has never really had a match tailor-made for him at WrestleMania, not like Batista, whose match against Triple H in 2005 is a fine way to reflect on just how far both of these guys have gone in five years. This is a dream match, moreso than Cena-Orton.

Bret Hart vs. Mr. McMahan
Better than the ones McMahon has had with Hogan or HBK at WrestleMania, this one can potentially work really well for both, no matter what either is currently capable of doing in the ring. That it's happening at all is still ridiculously remarkable.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
Love the fact that Punk is having his first solo match at WrestleMania. He's certainly earned it. Who better than Rey to compete against, right?

MizShow vs. John Morrison & R-Truth
This one won't technically be announced until tonight, but if this one actually gets on the actual WrestleMania card, I couldn't be happier for Morrison. Unless he somehow got a singles match. Maybe he slips into Money in the Bank, too, wins that, and gets a long-awaited heavyweight title shot?

***

Anyway, in non-wrestling thoughts, I think I'm finally pursuing a graduate degree. I've sent a feeler out to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), so we'll see where that goes. It just be a huge answer for my personal life.

#233. Survivor, Bret Hart, Against All Odds, Lower Decks

#233

~Technology-addled 29 year old is befuddled by the digital converter box that makes it impossible to tape things like I used to. But my sister is taping "Heroes vs. Villains" from the new season of Survivor for me, so I can't complain too much. I hope my schedule starts working for me on Thursdays again, but I guess I can't complain that I get to watch Smackdown on Fridays in the meantime. Good time, too, since it still looks like John Morrison is finally primed to join the main event.

~Bret Hart, I've wanted to say for weeks now, looks today like his father Stu. I don't actually get to watch Raw, so it took me a number of appearances to finally latch on to that. So when does the Hart Dynasty get involved in this angle, anyway?

~Against All Odds on Sunday was another excellent TNA night for Mr. Anderson, even if he ended up losing the tournament to "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero (Elijah Burke), who I previously raved about in my reaction to the live event I attended back in July of 2008. TNA is only getting better and better. Great time to make the transition to Mondays.

~Concerning my writing over at Lower Decks (which I rarely talk about here), my most recent HYGOTS column was the start of three weeks of DC essays, covering Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. At the Observation Lounge (message board), I'm posting today the conclusion to a Star Trek/Captain Picard "biographical" short story, The Man Who Loved Earl Grey Tea (Hot), which follows on the heels of How To Advance Your Career Through Marriage (covering Wesley Crusher) and Tarkin, Republic and Empire (my first Star Wars fiction). I think Lower Decks is pretty much dead at this point, but it's still fun to hang out there, and those guys are the only people who really want me, whether they like it or not. It keeps me writing, anyway. The Mouldwarp link on the right features a list of other Star Trek stories I've written since 1999.

#232. Finnegan, Genesis, Survivor Series

#232

Just a couple of quick notes:

~Finnegan is awaiting agents and/or publishers, so that goose is still in the air.

~Hoping like mad that John Morrison is getting the push he so richly deserves. (You morons who honestly believe The Miz is at a better career position at this point can suck it.)

~Genesis (2010) is being released on DVD on March 23. Owned. I also got another TNA Cross the Line three-pack featuring some PPVs from 2008. Good time to be a wrestling fan. For me, anyway.

~WWE: Please continue releasing the Survivor Series anthologies. Still don't know why they weren't released all at once, or if the final two actually have been scheduled. But, dudes?

~Contemplating a fourth poetry blog.

#231. Genesis 2010

#231

TNA's Genesis card has got to hold the official unofficial title of the company's most important PPV. This year it featured Ken Anderson's debut and was also the first show after the big Hogan renaissance. I know a lot of wrestling fans don't appreciate Anderson, which has been compounded by his "injury-prone" recent past, but the guy's gold, and TNA was right to market his acquisition as a big deal. He's the rare wrestler who's sell when he needs to without exaggerating it. You'll believe he's getting pounded, but you don't have to believe that he's some kind of super dominant wrestler, either, when he mounts a comeback. He's more organic than the typical superstar, more natural, which is confusing when you consider how most of them work. Given a real chance, he's make, ah, the impact due him, and TNA is ready to give him that chance. Thank you, TNA.

#230. New Monday Night War

#230

1/4/2010 might go down as one of the most historic nights in wrestling history. Forget for a moment that it was "the return of the Monday Night Wars." Just having Hogan and Hart addressing TNA and WWE, respectively, was such a completely uncommon occurrence that either one would have been a story of the year, but to have both on the same night...It's like, can I have both shows on DVD already?

As it is, I thought 2009 was a good year to save on DVD, but if this is how 2010 stars, where the heck does it end? Is there anywhere left to go? Now, clearly, TNA was all about establishing a new direction, which was handled so much better than the endless attempts WCW made in its final years, but for WWE to devote an entire night to reflecting back (well, pretty much) is, quite frankly, unprecedented, certainly without the context of a recent death. Both companies tried to showcase the extent of their current offerings, and apparently provided at least one exceptional match each (but, sorry WWE, how were you going to top A.J. Styles/Kurt Angle?), making them worth the snapshot on just about every account. WWE is gearing up for its biggest show of the year, while TNA is, again, mounting an offensive on the wrestling zeitgeist. I expect an entire issue, at the very least, of Pro Wrestling Illustrated dedicated to the evening.

It was a gutsy move on WWE's part to hold the Sheamus/Cena rematch last week rather than last night, but having the new champion take on what was basically it's version of the typical TNA star was equally gutsy.

Seriously, it's suddenly a very good time to be a wrestling fan again.

Anyway, just wanted to make note of it...

#229. 2009 QBs, Finnegan

#229

I've posted the 2009 QBs at Lower Decks.com (link at right), my fourth annual look at the year in comics. The actual QB50 is in this week's HYGOTS column, but on Tuesday I posted a supplemental edition with a look at fifty additional comics. I thought it was a wickedly good year for the funny books.

The completion of that task required a balancing act that worked out nicely with the end run of Finnegan, which I finished early this morning. I spent two months, and wrote the equivalent of two and a third NaNos, which is why I'm still thankful to Chris Baty and that movement for getting me started and helping me write my first book, Cloak of Shrouded Men, which I hope to republish at some point in a slightly (more) corrected edition. I'm extremely pleased with Finnegan, which, combined with the Fall In Their Place blog poems collection and the outline for the twelve-issue Conformists comic, made 2009 an exceedingly fruitful year. I couldn't be happier about it, where it positions me in the future.

#228. Wrestler of the Decade

#228

Because I'm sure that my Theoretical Readers are just dying to know, my picks for Wrestler of the Decade are:

Triple H - Hard to deny the decade he amassed a thousand championships.

Kurt Angle - When from a good wrestler to a great one, indispensable for both WWE and TNA.

Chris Jericho - Certainly his best decade.

The only reason I wouldn't list a Randy Orton, John Cena, or Batista is because they didn't exactly cover the whole decade. Otherwise, they would have been pretty good options, too.

I'd give the award, singularly, to Kurt Angle.

#227. Against the Day, Finnegan, Decade Favorites in Films, Books, TV, & Music

#227

Funny, but when I made the Reading List entry last month, Amazon wasn't loading properly, so I wasn't able to give Pynchon the same deal I've been doing for about half the year here at Scouring Monk. Also, not so funny, but I haven't actually gotten to read much of Against the Day, though I am quite enjoying it. Haven't gotten past a hundred pages yet. Chumps of Chance!

(A few days later, I was able to do my Christmas shopping pretty easily at Amazon, so my buggy computer stopped bugging out for a while.)

Part of the reason is that I've been battling Finnegan. I was forced to abandon the strict NaNo pace after twenty days, but have been rallying and gotten to 43 chapters of roughly 1667 words. The current goal is to complete the remaining ones by Christmas, so I can spend the rest of the year completing the QBs for Lower Decks and my weekly HYGOTS column. By 2010, I'll have a week vacation I hope to in part spend fishing out an agent to get the book into some publishing waters. Should be fun...

Here's the "literay mathematics" (originally posted at Facebook) of Finnegan: Twilight + Mary Shelley's Frankenstein + Calvin & Hobbes + the Bible + Grant Morrison + Robert Pirsig / Tony Laplume

Lots of people are marking the end of the decade with lists. I've been compiling some ideas myself:

Ten Favorite Films of the 00s
Alexander
Munich
The Dark Knight
Memento
Gladiator
The Departed
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Inglourious Basterds
Watchmen
The Da Vinci Code

Ten Favorite TV Shows of the 00s
Futurama
Boomtown
Star Trek: Enterprise
Lost
Alias
How I Met Your Mother
Prison Break
Survivor
Heroes
Grey's Anatomy

Ten Favorite CDs of the 00s
Coldplay - X & Y
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
Jet - Shine On
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Great Big Sea - *Something Beautiful
Hootie and the Blowfish - Looking for Lucky
Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun
Thrice - The Alchemy Index (Vols. i-iv, especially iv)

Ten Favorite Books of the 00s
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Roberto Bolano - 2666
Neil Gaiman - American Gods
Peter Ackroyd - The Plato Papers
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon
The Patron Saints - T.M. Wells
The Execution - Hugo Wilcken
Bone (One Volume Edition) - Jeff Smith
52 - Various

(revised lists as of 12/19/09)

#226. Reading List: Against the Day

#226

Currently reading:

Against the Day
By Thomas Pynchon

#225. Pandora, Finnegan, Survivor Series Anthology

#225

Sent off a sample script to Avatar Press today, featuring their flagship character, Pandora. I hope they like it. This doesn't mean I'm giving up on the Conformists pitch at Dark Horse, but hey. I should be sending a lot of stuff out anyway.

Finnegan is progressing nicely, and I'm happy how it seems to be evolving in the best possible uses of my talent. It's off NaNo pace by five days, but I've been playing fast and loose with that all month, so I'm not really all that concerned.

I got the Survivor Series anthologies finally, and have spent perhaps too much time watching them (when I could be writing, yeah, or reading.) Wrestling seems on a good tear these days. TNA (Turning Point is another step in the right direction) is doing well, WWE is still working on the next generation (Survivor Series 2009 looked like it was excellent), and even the Hulkamania tour is finally a reality, headlined by Hogan/Flair and featuring Orlando Jones/Mr. Anderson (Kennedy), two of the stars WWE completely failed in recent years.

I can't think right now, but wanted to check in anyway...

#224. Finnegan, 2666

#224

The big news is that I've started writing Finnegan, which coincidentally started at the start of NaNoWriMo, and I'm actually treating it much as I have in the past, a pace of 1667 words a day. The bad news is that, technically I'm already behind, but the good news is that I'm finding myself with a more flexible schedule that I had during the three Novembers it took to write Cloak of Shrouded Men (my calculations for Finnegan actually average to just about two and a half months, with 72 chapters at the stated length), which I think is pretty much working at this point.

I was thwarted in my attempts to purchase the released Survivor Series anthology volumes last week, but then I visited WWE.com and saw that I could get an outrageous deal from them (basically the two for the price of one), so I did that.

I'm still reading 2666, which is a long book, so it's taking more time than the pace I had been cutting since I started posting my reading list here. And the next few books, yeah, they're going to take probably about the same amount of time. I hope to be done 2666 well before the end of the month. Also, I am loving it.

#223. Victory Road, Breaking Point

#223

So I watched the Victory Road DVD, obviously, and it was exactly what I thought it was, TNA's step in the right direction, integrating people who really know what they're doing with those who haven't (except Daniels/Matt Morgan, if which case it was two people who don't -- I'm the rare observer who thinks the Fallen Angel is technically proficient, but who can't strange a decent match to save his life, and certainly not with someone like the Blueprint, but we'll get back to him). A.J. Styles really needed a step in a new direction, and Kevin Nash was exactly what he needed, and that's what the card was all about, getting the Main Event Mafia to not just dominate but work for the company. Samoa Joe never looked better than when he was fighting Sting (until Taz came out, then he completely fell apart, which was, er, ironic). This past Sunday's Bound for Glory was all about getting everything past that point. Styles is champion, and for the first time, TNA is handling it right. Bobby Lashley, not having to worry about "saving" the company, did a submission match with Joe. Kurt Angle took Morgan under his wing, which was exactly what got Styles the big belt (and hopefully, Morgan finally begins to pay off for someone). Eric Young and Hernandez, meanwhile, get the Nash treatment.

WWE, meanwhile, is working its younger players, too. I just watched Breaking Point, and it looks like Kofi Kingston and MVP have elevated their game to the point where they can be compared to their counterparts on Smackdown, John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler, whose match at Hell in a Cell is the reason I'll be picking up that DVD, too. The problem is the wrestling community failing to embrace these guys (I'm looking at you, Wrestleview). They're the future. Hey, it looks bright.

#222. Reading List: 2666

#222

2666 by Robert Bolano finally came to plate, and I couldn't be more pleased. I chose the Spanish version because I think I would actually want to learn Spanish to read it as he wrote it, and I've only read about thirty pages so far (you'd get the urge, too, if you read those pages, on a number of levels). He's a dream writer for the great literature/writer set, and I'm glad this book came out of him before he died. It's going to be a pleasure however long it takes me to read it.

#221. WWE 2003 DVD Collection

#221

Last week I accomplished what probably no one else did in 2009: I completed my collection of the WWE 2003 PPVs. It didn't begin on purpose, and continued on just as accidentally, but over time, it just seemed like something that was not only possible, but almost necessary, honoring one of the least appreciated years in wrestling, whether it was Evolution's first year, Brock Lesnar's last full run, or Goldberg's only tenure in WWE, and any number of other things, it became inevitable. There was a pretty big push earlier this year, scooping up four additional titles a month ago, and then the chance came to finally get Armaggedon, the one I kept avoiding because Goldberg finally fell to Triple H (but it was a good match all the same, probably the best either one competed in all year).

I, er, don't anticipate ever repeating that accomplishment. But, I will be getting TNA's much-deplored Victory Road from this year. I know, I know, I pick all the popular ones. Have you read my column at Lower Decks?

#220. Reading List: A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters

#220

A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters by Julian Barnes. The first chapter finally got me back in Noah fiction (as seen in Not Wanted On the Voyage by Timothy Findley, or The Preservationist by David Maine, which I haven't read, but later in the Reading List are a bunch of other books by Maine). The book itself is kind of funny, because I think I must have been thinking of another book, or perhaps another edition, when I bought it. All the same, good stuff.

I'm also reading Flashforward from Robert J. Sawyer as one of my longer term reading materials, thanks to the show, which apparently only takes so much from the book. Still, should be interesting.

#219. Conformists in the Mail

#219

Wow, so I shipped the Conformists pitch off to Dark Horse yesterday. It's a good feeling just to have done that...

#218. Conformists Scripting

#218

In purely personal news, I'm thrilled to announce that I've finally finished the script for Conformists#1, and I clocked it in at what was my Digital Webbing pace of two days for a 22 page script. Couldn't be happier.

Oh, and now I get to be a parent and try and see it succeed in the world. If it does, I've got eleven other babies to rear...

#217. PWI 500 2009

#217

It's time for our annual Scouring Monk review of the PWI 500!

First, a prelude. I don't know why I never really realized this before, but Pro Wrestling Illustrated's ranking period, roughly summer (A) to summer (B) has probably always been meant to skewer whoever WWE has chosen for the WrestleMania push. A second glance will make this obvious, and the moreso when WWE, for one reason or other, has failed to make a solid commitment in that role. The two most controversial selections in the PWI 500's history for the number one slot were Dean Malenko (1997) and Rob Van Dam (2002). No please, let me elaborate.

In 1997, WWE's WrestleMania plans were thwarted, by whom exactly the tales often vary. Shawn Michaels is the popular selection, and all the more by the events of that year's Survivor Series. By Bret Hart's reckoning, it was Shawn's refusal to exchange the favor he'd made the previous year (in, oh, the greatest main event championship match in the card's history; he never has a problem sharing the glory of 1992's Summer Slam match with Davey Boy Smith, possibly because fortune certainly smiled on him a bit more). Others have it that the Ultimate Warrior foiled the plans by failing to remain a viable employee for longer than a few months following his 1996 comeback. In any event, WWE scrambled to put together a Sid-Undertaker program. Clearly this had never been the plan (other than the fact that Sid had been engaged in a long-term program with Michaels at that point, and Undertaker enjoyed a lengthy reign after it).

At the same time, the nWo had completely overtaken WCW, and hey, the wrestling scene. PWI had listed HBK atop its 1996 500, but his reign wasn't all that popular with the fans (possibly because of the breaking nWo arc that coincided with the hottest months of his reign). Consequently, WCW was forced into the "controversial" position of pushing a star, Hulk Hogan, who was past his wrestling prime (or at least, initial popularity; whatever). This is crucial because PWI prides itself as an objective, even academic exercise, and the PWI 500 is its yearly crowning achievement in that regard. Yet, quite patently, there's nothing really scientific about it. PWI is a fan venture through and through, and it's only for the fact that it is about as close to academic as the wrestling community gets that it can assume to be an authority, even when at the most important moments, it's anything but. Hence the queer association between that WrestleMania push and the top ranking in almost every PWI 500.

Now, the only way a fan is different from whatever wrestling organization he chooses to follow (because for most fans, it's impossible to cover more than a small handful of the wrestling scene, something PWI has the luxury of doing, but routinely squanders in anything but the PWI 500, except in the meaningless reportage it does) is that he does not have to make the decisions that cast the fortunes of the wrestlers. He only has to observe and cheer or boo as he chooses. Simply put, he has the advantage, if he chooses, to make a completely objective stance. Any wrestler who garners any real reaction from that or any other fan, will automatically know it. That's the nature of wrestling.

Therefore, I submit that the only "scientific" way to judge the year of any wrestler is whether or not they've put on a consistently excellent performance, regardless of titles or matches won, how the company they happen to work for actually treats them. The only way to judge a wrestler is how the audience accepts him.

In that regard, PWI is often pretty good, otherwise it would never have chosen Malenko or Van Dam to represent its ranking, regardless of whether or not they actually earned it.

So this is to say, at the very least, given the way PWI's rankings went that year, one would assume that the nWo was in fact a miserable failure from the start, because Hogan's ranking was dismal indeed. In fact, he ought to have been #1.

In 2002, Triple H got the WrestleMania push, but not the top PWI 500 ranking, because his overall year wasn't impressive. He missed half the grading period rehabbing his quad, and his championship reign lasted only one month. Fair enough, PWI.

But RVD? Hardly. Only fans who were invested in the wrestler and not his actual performance would ever have thought so ridiculously highly of him for so long (it's the same reason Chris Benoit got the 2004 PWI 500 top slot over Eddie Guerrero - if you overlook the need for the big WrestleMania push to be the determining factor; it's also why Batista got the 2005 PWI 500 spot over John Cena, even though Guerrero and Cena had consistently better years, over the grading periods, than Benoit or Batista). (And hey, the 2004 question doesn't even mention the fact that Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Kurt Angle, or Triple H would have made more credible selections than fan favorites Benoit or Guerrero.)

Chris Jericho had just spent a significant portion of the grading period headlining WWE's most important PPVs, wearing the unprecedented unified world championship (one of PWI's writers even tried to defend his ranking once again in this year's issue). If he wasn't good enough, there was Steve Austin, who had just completed his last great run with WWE (but was knocked for cutting out the last few months, which are about as significant when they need to be for PWI writers as the entire first half of the period, which is to say not very). He'd hijacked the Invasion angle, just as Hogan had dominated the nWo angle, despite the fact that technically, it was Hall and Nash's story, had a tremendous series of matches with Kurt Angle over the WWE title, and had still been in the title scene as late as February, when a resurrected nWo, Triple H, and Jericho had taken over the title scene. By nWo I count Hogan, who had his last run with the big belt right after Triple H's big comeback. Oh, and by referencing Hogan, I also mean to bring up The Rock, who deserved a ton of credit for making the defining wrestling match of the modern era with Hogan at WrestleMania.

Jericho, Austin, Angle, or The Rock would have been fine selections. RVD should never even have been in the running.

Speaking of The Rock, he might as well have had the 2000 PWI 500 spot as well. But if not him, then certainly Triple H.

All of this a prelude for Triple H's win in the 2009 PWI 500 lottery. Truth be told, I was somewhat surprised by it. Earlier this week, I had scribbled in my notebook the following names I expected to find in the top ten: Randy Orton (deservedly last year's selection), Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Kurt Angle, and Sting.

I expected Orton to repeat, easily. He had developed himself into the most exciting performer at the start of the year by annihilating the entire McMahon clan, which led into the first legitimate war he's had in his career, with Triple H, who of course, by some twist of PWI logic, ended up with the default WrestleMania push (because he won, which itself was not a problem by any means).

Jeff Hardy I was somewhat pleasantly surprised, didn't make the top ten, because in truth, he didn't have the year to truly merit it. He fumbled around a little too much. Jericho could easily have been #1, if Orton hadn't been. There was nobody hotter than he was last fall, and he's turned dynamic turn after dynamic turn since then. Who else could have helped carry that terrific Ricky Steamboat comeback? Punk had been punked by PWI's reasoning last year, so it was nice to see he made it. Angle was TNA's Jericho, easily, but no respect for that. No respect, in fact, for TNA at all this year, even though, for me, it was a breakout period for the company. Sting got on the list, too.

A.J. Styles made a tremendous comeback from an admittedly lackluster 2008 PWI 500 year, but was hardly thanked for it. PWI sees the Main Event Mafia as a mistake. I see it as increasingly genius. Maybe it's because I hve the inevitable advantage of following developments that just missed the grading period, such as Samoa Joe being elevated to MEM status, or Styles elevating Matt Morgan. Even Hernandez, however, wasn't given any credit, even though he was on the cusp of his own elevation until injury temporarily put it on hold (it'll be the story of the second half of 2009). Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, didn't get any love, even though they had breakout periods.

Oh, and Brian Kendrick. In is write-up, PWI didn't even bother to acknowledge how hot his fall was. It doesn't matter where he's ended up. A fan would know this, and acknowledge it.

Still, it was a fairly good edition, even if PWI itself failed to appreciate it.

Let's say it's the Monk's ambition to make a truly satisying 500 list.

#216. Reading List: Good Omens

#216

Good Omens is absolutely the last Neil Gaiman (with Terry Pratchett this time) on the reading list. I love the mass market scheme for this one, so it's a pleasure to spotlight the dueling covers for it from ol' Amazon. From this point, we'll be moving into ridiculously heavy literary territory, but Neil is the kind of English writer that should probably be the poster boy of that country's modern output, even if he's "genre."

I've been on vacation, so that made Fragile Things pretty easy to read through quickly.

#215. Reading List: Fragile Things

#215

Fragile Things continues my reading list's fascination with Neil Gaiman. It's a short story collection, which is always a nice change of pace, and will help prepare me for a number of longer works not so much farther down the list, so I'll be ready to tackle them. The only problem? Like the Gaimans, they're one-after-another. Still! The list is long and varied, and my dear Theoretical Readers get to share it with me!

#214. Conformists

#214

Last week I finished up the revised synopsis for The Conformists...and then took another look at the Dark Horse submission guidelines in the midst of realizing that I wasn't going to have quite as much time on Friday as I'd had on Wednesday, when I really should have started on the script for the first issue. So I still haven't started, but I did begin vacation yesterday so I'll have all the time I need. I mentioned the guidelines because I'd been under the impression (hope?) that I could electronically submit the project, as I had with the poetry contest entry, and that isn't the case, so that necessitates yet another of the upgrades I'll be needing in the near future:

ink!

I guess that about does it, unless someone allows digital recording for us folks still receiving basic TV (y'know, the suckers who got those digital converters).

...Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good about being on vacation. Really good! I'll check back in at some point within the two weeks for an update...

#213. Reading List: Anansi Boys

#213

Now to Gaiman:

Anansi Boys, the sequel to American Gods, the first thing I read from Neil. I've since read a handful of the legendary Sandman comics, but Anansi Boys, as I've said, kicks off a series in this Reading List from Gaiman.