Media Glutton, March 18, 2008

The media, I can't stop it. It keeps on coming into my brain and I love it. I was talking with a friend last week who's reading a book designed to inspire creativity. It encourages the reader to try taking a week long media-fast, avoiding all books, movies, TV, and anything else that might smack of the creative so as to give your own mind a chance to expand into the empty territory (or so I suppose). Well, I can see in some theoretical world where that might work, but I'm never going to try it. I'm 99% sure I'd go nuts. I'm 100% sure I'd be bored out of my skull.

Having said that, it was a slightly less media filled week for me. I didn't make it out to the movie theater and I somehow managed to sleep right through going to the Bradentucky Bombers women's roller derby match on Sunday night, which was a bummer, as I always love me some roller derby. But I did manage to catch the first two episodes of HBO's new mini-series, John AdamsJohn Adams. And I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I was hoping to be able to cancel my HBO subscription after The Wire ended, and now I'm not going to.

John Adams is really very interesting, at least to me. But then I'm the kind of guy who thinks it actually is more intriguing to see the ins and outs of politics in the first Continental Congress than the details of the actual battles of the Revolutionary War. I love watching the wheeling and dealing, the impassioned speeches, the legal pull and tug. I've got a degree in history, but I've never done much reading on the Revolutionary era, so a fair amount of these details are new to me, including stuff that I feel I should have known. For example, I had no idea Adams represented the soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre. That scene alone is worth watching the show. I did know that being tarred and feathered was not the jolly frat-boy prank it sounds like thanks to a high school history teacher's vivid description, and it was nice to see that portrayed in excruciating detail as well.

Plus you know what? I don't care what people say, tri-corner hats are just cool. I really want them to make a comeback. Maybe I can be on the forefront of that new fashion trend. So, my advice is to catch up on the series if you missed it and then come along for the ride. You get the pleasure of watching good actors and writers at work combined with the smug satisfaction of learning something. I then encourage you to go read some actual history from a different point of view and find out everything that this series inevitably gets wrong or just plain makes up.

Of course there's more HBO stuff coming that I want to see as well. This summer brings Wire-creator David Simon's Iraq War series which looks pretty freaking awesome. Plus HBO just announced that their making a series out the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency novels, which I've not read but heard great things about. Plus, a detective series set in Africa? I'm all over that action. Stupid HBO, they always find ways to make me give them money. I hate/love them so much...

Speaking of things coming this summer, ESPN announced the return of Battle Bots, which I'm surprisingly excited about. I happened to be in San Francisco to watch the taping of the very first Battle Bots and it was a ton of fun. The show I think suffered some from being on Comedy Central. The new series will apparently show more behind the scenes stuff in the pits and maybe focus on the tech more. All I can say is, I'm excited, and it's more of a sport than poker.

My big media purchase of the week was to buy the complete works of geek-singer extraordinaire, Jonathan Coulton. Coulton is a self-made geek-rock celebrity who stands as a shining example of how the internet/new media/digital revolution is offering new paths to artistic freedom and financial success outside of the traditional studios systems. Coulton is not for everyone - his songs are funny, sometimes, sweet, sometimes sad, often just weird, and usually about something very geeky. He made himself famous by releasing one free song a week for an entire year, during which time he built up a fan base that continues to grow and supports his touring. He says he makes more now than he did when he was a programmer and I believe him. You can get all his stuff for free one place or another online, including many from his own site, but you can also buy them individually or in albums or, as I did, pick up (I mean download) the whole library for $70. I think it's more than a great deal. Coulton favorites to check out include: RE: Your Brains, Code Monkey, Skullcrusher Mountain, and The Future Soon, among many others.