Putting Down His PAD And Pencil

Peter David, fan favorite author and comic book writer, passed away this weekend at the age of 68.  Over the past thirteen years, he has had many health issues, starting with a stroke in December of 2012.

David was a prolific author, mostly in the science fiction and fantasy genres.  I’ve read a number of his works, mostly from the Star Trek: The Next Generation expanded universe.  The majority of my exposure to David’s work, however, was in the world of comic books.  He was most well-known for his award-winning twelve year run on The Incredible Hulk and also had notable runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.

While I haven’t been in the comic book game for quite a while, this news was still a bit of a shock.  I was aware of some of his earlier health issues, but not as up to date on the more current ones.  He was a unique voice and will surely be missed by his many fans.

2019: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_22

The return of my annual long December vacation, with very little to do otherwise, saw a big increase in movie watching for me, with my highest total since 2011.  I managed to watch 89 movies last year, my eighth consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching, the greater effort made towards going out for walks, and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Life Of The Party (2018)
Melissa McCarthy joins her daughter at college after her husband leaves her.

The Haunted Mansion (2003)
Eddie Murphy tackles a movie based on the Disneyland ride.

Downsizing (2017)
Matt Damon shrinks himself to 5 inches tall, gaining wealth but losing a wife.

Knight And Day (2010)
A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Keep Watching (2017)
A gang of intruders takes a family hostage and forces them to play a game.

The Space Between Us (2017)
The first human born on Mars heads to Earth to find his long-distance crush, even if it will kill him.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
A choose-your-own-adventure film about a young kid trying to make it in the video game industry.

Bird Box (2018)
A woman tries to save her two children in a world where seeing things leads to death.

Hereditary (2018)
A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
Aliens take over the human race. Continue reading →

Fitbit V: Week 6

Yet another week where poor weekends bring down a decent work week.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, where I didn’t leave the house and finished just shy of 2400 steps.  Monday put a couple of coffee runs to good use to come in over 7800 steps.  Tuesday missed both the morning and afternoon coffee runs, which is why I finished with just over 6100 steps.  Wednesday bounced back, coming in a mere 31 steps over my daily goal.  Thursday was the highlight of the week, coming in over 11,400 steps thanks to an after-work trip to Woodfield Mall while killing time before seeing Captain Marvel.  Friday fell back down to just over 7000 steps.  Saturday was a complete bust, as I failed to crack 1300 steps while not leaving the house.

Total steps: 43,622

Daily average: 6231.7