2023

The year ended with my brother being hospitalized. I am hoping for the best.

This was the second time I had to attend Wordcon virtually. Due to my job and the current political tensions, I did not go to Chengdu. I did see the Opening Ceremonies, the Hugo Awards, panels that were online, and Closing Ceremonies. The convention’s interface was interesting but limited. There was no chat feature, and one could choose the language channel. What I saw was interesting and I hope future Worldcons can do as much. I had a Hugo Party for friends, some who had relatives who were finalists. Some friends won fan awards and I was mentioned in Hugo, Girl’s acceptance speech. This was a great honor and I appreciate it.

Pemmi-Con was a bit unorganized but fun. I got go with a close friend. I got to talk to other friends who only see at Worldcon. I wish I had spent more time in Winnipeg and see a Fringe show there.

I did make last year’s goal of writing more. I wrote 4 articles for The Drink Tank on “Pyramids of Mars”, Douglas Adams, Spider-Man, and Kitty Pryde. I did 2 book reviews and a film review for the Orlando SF Society’s newsletter Event Horizon. For the anniversaries of Star Trek Animated and Dungeons and Dragons, I did micro reviews on the anniversary date of the broadcast. I plan to continue and add another show next year.

The people who left us this year includes Suzy McKee Charnas, Cindy Williams, Gina Lollobrigida, Adam Rich, Burt Bacharach, Julian Sands, David Crosby, Lisa Loring, Lance Riddick, Robert Blake,  Hugh Hudson, Leiji Matsumoto, Dame Edna, Raquel Welch, Tom Sizemore, John Jakes, Topol, Michael Reaves, Mark Russell, Harry Belafonte, Al Jaffe, Sharon Farrell, Ray Austin, Tina Turner, John Romita Sr., Treat Williams, Glenda Jackson, Daniel Ellsburg, Jim Brown, Alan Arkin, Manny Coto, Tony Bennett, Inga Swenson, Sinéad O’Connor, Paul Rubens, William Friedkin, Arleen Sorkin, Bob Barker, Dianne Feinstein, Michael Flynn, Burt Young, Phyllis Coates, David McCallum, Michael Gambon, Lara Parker, Stephen Kandel, Richard Roundtree, Piper Laurie, Jimmy Buffett, Richard Moll, Matthew Perry, Robert Butler, Frances Sternhagen, Suzanne Somers, Frank Borman, Michael Bishop, Rosalynn Carter, Erik Reiss, Marty Kroft, Ryan O’Neal, Norman Lear, Marylin “Fuzzy Pink” Niven, David Drake, Andre Braugher, and Tom Smothers.

Megacon was a one day event for me. I saw some friends. I did go to a panel with Geoff Johns. He talked about his work and the star of Stargirl Bree Basinger showed up and joined Johns and the dais. It was a fun panel even though the show was cancelled last year.

Necronomicon was a great event done by fans in West Florida. My thanks to Steve Cole for looking after my table during trivia and fannish Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me.

Film-wise I started the year with the light and fun Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The Killer Robots! Robotica Destructiva was a locally made SF comedy and one of the stars is a casual friend. Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania went to microverse with mixed results. Infinity Pool shows what happens when people do not have to live by the same rules as the rest of us do. Path of the Panther was a local documentary that should how the Florida Panther came back from near extension. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was a fun romp with a great Easter egg. Shazam: Fury of the Gods had some moments, but the humor should have been dialed down a bit. Polite Society was great story which balanced the humor and drama. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 was disturbing, and one learns the importance of empathy. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse turns a hero I like into an authoritarian antagonist, but the story is not done and I want more. The Flash had great moments with the DC Universe, but it was a bit a mess and got the humor part wrong. Lynch/OZ looked at how the director is influenced by the film. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny could have been more but it was still a lot of fun. Blue Beetle was a great look at a Latin American superhero and honored the Ted Kord version of the character. Stop Making Sense took us to a Talking Heads concert and fun was had by all. Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan save the Earth in The Marvels. Aquaman and the Lost City was a strong end to the earlier series of DC films.

The Florida Film Festival had many good films to watch. Judy Blume Forever examined the career of a Grand Mistress of YA. Moon Garden presented a young girl’s nightmare. Two men explored one of this country’s great treasures in Out There: A National Park Story. The Artifice Girl was an AI story about its possible role in society. The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster was great retelling of Frankenstein with a better ending. A struggling artist takes a trip to a magical land in Unicorn Boy. A Ukrainian made CGI film takes one to steampunk world where nature and technology must find a balance in Mavka: The Forest Song. My Love Affair With Marriage is about a woman’s relationship to marriage told as an animated feature. Brooklyn 45 shows how World War II vets deal with the aftermath of war. The festival ended with the beautifully haunting Fantastic Planet.

I got to see some classic films in the theater or streamed for the first time. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was Russ Meyers at his peak. Solaris is an oddly paced but interesting film. I found my local TV station cut the first scene in The Dirty Dozen. Blue Velvet is a disturbing and engaging film. The Spitualist was a fraud who gets in over his head. Garden State was an intense look at mental health. Shin Godzilla showed the strength and weakness of bureaucracies.  Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut examined the results of the Sexual Revolution.

I binged most of the Oscar Best Picture finalists in January-March. The winner Everything Everywhere All at Once became the second Science Fiction film to win the Best Picture Oscar. Eo told the story of a donkey that wonders Europe. We see Spielberg’s early life in The Fablemans. The Banshees of Inisherin is a painful metaphor of Ireland’s struggles. Tar was about person who cannot face her problems. Woman Talking shows Mennonite women making a difficult decision for themselves. The Quiet Girl is a somber look at childhood. Turning Red was a different look at adolescence. The Sea Beast was an exciting adventure. Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a new take on a classic that will break your heart. Triangle of Sadness was well made but a bit of a downer for me. Elvis showed us that Tom Hanks can be a villain and that the King loved comics. Argentina 1985 showed what hard work and the truth can bring down those who abuse their power.

There are a few things for next year’s Oscars. The Boy and Heron was Miyazaki’s most personal story and tells it with the same flair. Poor Things tells the story of a woman finding her own place in the world. Oppenheimer gave one a complex look at a brilliant man who did something incredible and had a messy life. Barbie took a toy and made a statement about women and men. Are You There God? Its Me Margaret  was about learning about ourselves during adolescence. Have You Got It Yet: The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd shed some light on an artist who left before his group got legendary big. Killers of the Silver Moon talks about one of the greatest crimes ever committed and we must understand it. A Disturbance in the Force explained how the Star Wars Holiday Special Happened. The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four told the saga about the 1994 Fantastic Four movie that was never officially released. Maestro showed us a flawed genius who made great art.

I did not watch as much anime in the theater this year. Suzume was a great coming of age film which also a road trip. It was great to see Paprika in a theater.

My television landscape changed this year. Only a few shows were on the traditional networks. Superman and Lois faces Bruno Manheim and will end its run dealing with Luthor. Nancy Drew ended its odd but engaging story. I may be outlier but I liked the characters in Gotham Knights and wanted to see where the story was going. The Quantum Leap project continues with great success. Our favorite crewmates of Star Trek: The Lower Decks got promoted. Some of them meet the crew of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. There we get new crew members and hear them sing. Star Trek: Picard reunites Picard with his crew and has a final voyage. Mandalore was restored in this Mandalorian. Ezra Bridger and Thrawn were found in Ahsoka. The Last of Us had some great character moments though I have some issues with parts of the world building (this can be though some of my perceptions). Muppet Mayhem gaves us the Electric Mayhem with all the glory. Loki tries to save the multiverse while Uatu continues to observe it in What If. Secret Invasion was a mess that did not have the scope of the original comics. Scott Pilgrim vs The World takes a new look at an old story and maybe a better take on the characters’ challenges. Ken Burns showed the history of the American animal in The American Buffalo. Rick and Morty examine themselves in this season. For All Mankind continues to take us further into space while facing our own shortcomings. Russell T. Davies, David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who to hand over the reins to Ncuti Gatwa.

I have been continuing the Galactic Journey’s Star Trek re watch on the 55^th anniversary of broadcast complete with commercials of the era. It is a great look at this classic series.

I did most of my anime watching on Toonami. It was a challenging year with no new shows. One Piece took us to Punk Hazard and Dressrosa. Deku learned the power of friendship in My Hero Academia. Made in Abyss continued its journey. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal  was a new trippy adventure by Genndy Tartakovsky. We saw the first part of the finale of Attack of Titan. Senku and the gang explored more of their world in Dr. Stone. There was more insanity with FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze. We got another take on the legend My Adventures With Superman.We rejoined Tanjiro and his team on a train in Demon Slayer.

Online I completed watching the adventures of Suletta Mercury in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. I also watched the exciting adventures of Loid, Your, Anya, and Sylvia on Spy x Family. Magical Destroyers told a story of fandom in an interesting way. Pluto took a noirish take on a Tezuka plot and Black Jack has a cameo.

Saga it is still a page turner. We got to celebrate a classic Horror icon in Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel.The war continues for Makia Halfwolf in Monstress: Volume 7 Devourer and Volume 8: Inferno. Duncan, Bridgette, and Rose defeat Beowulf look for allies in Once and Future: Volume 4 Monarchies in the UK. The story get wrapped up in Volume 5 The Wasteland. Cyberpunk: Big Cities Dreams showed the pros and cons of life in the city and the country. Alex Ross gives a sequel to a classic Fantastic Four story in Fantastic Four: Full Circle. Legendary comics did a great job adapting the recent Dune film to comics. J. Michael Straczynski returns to comics with Captain America and shows Steve Rogers fighting fascists both in and out of costume. For researching an article on Kitty Pryde, I read or re-read X-Men and Excalibur comics.

I read over 30 books including graphic novels, novellas, and non-fiction. I went down from last year, I need to manage my time better. Tochi Onyebuchi’s Goliath looks at class structures. Cities and the communities in them are fighting against a threat in The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin. A robot doing odd things is captivating in Lavie Tidhar’s Neom. Kindness and found family are the stars in Tasmyn Muir’s Nona the Ninth. Quantum Night by Robert J. Sawyer posits that mental behavior maybe affected by at the quantum level. Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Ogres has a great SF twist that we were not expecting. January 15 by Rachel Swirsky look at how Universal Basic Income would work. Ray Nayler explored intelligence both natural and artificial in The Mountain in the Sea. Colonialism is thoroughly analyzed in R.F. Kuang’s Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. In Nicola Griffith’s Spear we follow a young woman who becomes a knight in a version of Arthur’s Camelot. SFWA Grandmaster Robin McKinley had a young woman deal with vampires in a different way. An orc tries to start a new life as a coffee shop owner in Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes. A princess puts a team together to save her sister in T. Kingfisher Nettle and Bone. Ann Leckie returns to the Imperial Radch universe with a new adventure dealing with a fugitive, aliens, and adopted child in Translation State. Bree is on the run trying to find answers in Tracy Deonn’s Bloodmarked. Seanan McGuire shows us that escape is an option in Lost in the Moment and Found. T. Kingfisher has a great spin on Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” in What Moves the Dead. Tess and the Countess Margarethe have their relationship tested in Rachel Hartman’s In the Serpent’s Wake. El tries to go back to save someone in Naomi Novik’s The Golden Enclaves. A spiritual detective is made an offer she cannot refuse in C.L. Polk’s Even Though I Knew the End. Nghi Vo has a group of people taking a trip and learn things about themselves Into the Riverlands. Silvia Moreno-Garcia takes the H.G. Wells story to Mexico in The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. Sunny and her friends take a dangerous trip in Nnendi Okorafor Akata Woman. Osmo challenges local myths and explores them in in Catherynne M. Valente Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods. A forensic account gets a fortune and has to deal with it in Cory Doctorow’s Red Team Blues. John Scalzi looks at the economics of being a 70s Bond antagonist in Starter Villain. Ian McDonald has to people meet and set a series of actions in motion that will change the world in Hopeland. A succubus and nightmare god plan a heist in Wale Talabi’s Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon. Malka Older has two former lovers investigate a mystery in Jupiter orbit in The Mimicking of Known Successes. I ended the year with Lavie Tidhar asking how much power can an old SF novel have in The Circumference of the World.

I did not read much non-fiction this year. Peril by Bob Woodward explained the last days of the last administration.I read part of Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes by Robert Wilkins which told the story of one of our greatest Fantasy writers. A read the part about the brides in Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, by Kyle Buchanan. These were both for Hugo consideration.

I stuck with the same podcasts this year with The Inglorious Treksperts, Biff, Fatman Beyond, Radio Free Skaro, Verity, Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy, Anime Addicts Anonymous, Anime World Order, Starship Sofa, Escape Pod, Hugos There¸Hugo, Girl, Toonami Faithful, The Incomparable , Our Opinions Are Correct, Random Trivia, The Dickheads,Postcards from a Dying World, Octothorpe, The Greatest Movie Ever, and The Best Movies Never Made. I just started checking out If This Goes On (Don’t Panic).

I am checking out short fiction in the Lady Business recommendation spread sheet.

Hugo, my dog, is doing well.

I did bike a bit more but I still have to push myself more.

I want to do more reviews this year. I need to work on discipline for reading and writing. I will do a full review once a month of something.

As always, thanks to those who made the year as fun as it was. This I list would be long and I would forget someone. If you know me and are reading this you are one of those people.

2024 will be a stressful year due to the election. I hope we pull together and vote for democracy. I always hope for the best.

Take care.